Tales from the Vault
by Sandstone
Summary: These are stories that have died or stalled, and will not recieve updates, but had so much potential, they had to at least be published in their partial state. Mostly pokemon, with some other content from all over.
1. Dark Hybrid

A/N: A simple explination about this: Each of these stories have been put in my 'vault'. They all have potential, but I'm unsure of where to go to next with them, or they've stalled, and I've lost interest. There aren't any further chapters to be published unless I get back the spark that fuels the creation of them. Instead, I'm just releasing these stories for my own amusement, and for anyone who wants to look over these ideas.

If you want to borrow some of the things I do, all I ask is that you A: let me know, and it's a safe bet that I'll ok it, and B: give credit somewhere in your story about the concept being my work, rather than your own.

Notes about this story: Here's a list of attacks I came up with, but they're not fully used in this yet. Some of them are hinted at, others are used, but he only uses a few.

Dark-blast: in essence, a massive blast of dark energies. Similar in idea to a Hyper Beam, only a true dark type can sustain the blast

Darkstorm: Creates a mix of hail/rain dance that recharges dark pokemon, while it weakens non-dark types. Does increase water type attacks (+ 25, but also increases Dark type attacks slightly (non-contact by 15). Weakens fire.

Dark Shadow: creates a duplicate of the pokemon, composed of dark energies. It charges at insane speed toward the foe, and explodes in a whirlpool of dark energy.

Dark Blitz: Running tackle, covered in dark energy. Similar damage to Flame Wheel.

Phasechange: Upon physical contact, takes the foe to the Void. There, the pokemon fight on their own… though any dark pokemon, or dark-wielding pokemon gets a massive boost in vitality. Upon leaving, the boost disappears, and if the pokemon isn't a dark type, it'll pass out.

Howl of the Void: Similar in idea to a howl, except the move boosts attack and spec. attack.

Ties of Darkness: any dark type is forced to remain in combat

Dark-sense: disappearing into the void, the pokemon meditates, searching out its true foe. Once it finds it, bursts of darkness strike from nowhere, and the pokemon returns to the field, barely drained at all from the attack.

Void aid: Pokemon retreats into the Void, and inside, heals itself as best as able. Works best on dark types

Dark-bolt: Similar in essence to a Shock Wave (minus always hits), this mid-power attack can serve as an electrical attack, if the pokemon can generate current. Like a black bolt of lightning, this blast is attracted to metal or high objects.

Dark-corruption: Any electrical, fire, physical, water, flying, or ice attack, if the pokemon is trained correctly, can use dark energies to enhance the attack to a limited degree. Limited other moves can be enhanced as well.

Shadowtie: If hit by enough of Alexander's unique moves, a strange effect affects any non-dark type foe. They weaken as time passes, like they were poisoned, and their eyes take on a strange blackness. At times, they disobey their trainer, and fire out a Dark-bolt. If they fire enough, the effect halts

Dark shield: A shield made of dark energies. It weakens anything that a dark type resists, but anything else passes straight through it. Spherical in nature, any attack launched through it costs more energy, but automatically gets Dark-corruption, even if not of the right element (except psychic type moves, which cannot be used) Draining move, pokemon cannot take as many hits without needing a Void aid.

Containment grid: The pokemon must be able to generate either flame or electrical energy. Upon utilizing the attack, the foe is trapped in a sphere of flame/electricity guided by dark energy. The pokemon generating the field can concentrate only upon this

Ancient's curse: Only Gengar can use this attack. Gengar sacrifices it's ability to use dark type moves, as well as one other (poison/ghost), and in return, the opponent pokemon cannot use one of it's elemental type moves, determined at random.

Flames of Balrog: Dark and fire type only. Attacks with a black flame that causes burns almost guaranteed.

Black stone of the void: Tyranitars only. Tyranitar travels to the void (must know some way to get there), and inside, crafts a black stone that is tied to the void. This stone absorbs psychic attacks, but can shatter if super-effective against dark types attack it. While Tyranitar possess it, it gets increased power for its dark type moves. It can also be hurled, which will result in an explosion of dark energies, as a last resort.

Dark Dragon Rage: This attack can only be used by pokemon that can use Dragon attacks, and Dark attacks. The attack causes the foe to be confused and paralyzed. Needs to recharge afterwards

Void Weapon: Human / Absol hybrid only. The hybrid, using their ties to the void, creates a weapon composed of Dark energies. The hybrid can form anything from swords to shuriken, but ranged weapons are one shot only. This can be modified to form scythes on the edge of their arms, like a corruption of Leaf Blade.

Dark Double Team: Creates a double-team images, but if the foe uses a physical attack on one of them, they take damage.

* * *

I sat quietly in the field, as the league representative spoke. He was supposed to be a brilliant trainer… but all I heard was hatred toward 'evil hybrids'. It didn't make any sense as to why, besides the fact that we were 'abnormal'. 

I sighed, and buried my face in my hands… earning a call from the rep. for volunteers for something. Since no one volunteered, I grinned darkly, and volunteered, earning startled looks, and a few apprehensive ones.

This was a practice battle, but it was obvious to me he was going to show off. He had a Charizard out, one that looked like it was a high level.

I absently looked it over, before looking over my outfit. The 'hat' I wore was actually cover for my scythe, while my tail/scythe was tucked in back, running up my back. I was conserving energy, and so my body, except for my exposed face and neck, was covered in white fur. My eyes were still red as hell, and my hair was white, but no one noticed that much.

I brushed aside a strand of white hair, and then pulled out one of my own personal pokemon, ignoring the offered 'school pokemon', who weren't trained to my preferences. I was tempted to release my Charizard and have them face off, but frankly, Charizard was still shaky on his dark moves that I'd taught him, so that left Tyranitar or Manectric… I chose Tyranitar, she had the best control of all my pokemon. I tossed the ball onto the field, releasing the dark/rock pokemon with a grin. She looked about, then her gaze settled onto the Charizard, with a dark snarl.

I chuckled. I couldn't understand all pokemon unless I forced myself, but I certainly could understand my own element… her profanities were quite amusing. I guess I was rubbing off on her.

The representative arched an eyebrow, and said, "Impressive pokemon. It looks well trained."

I chuckled, and said dryly in response, "Damn right she's well trained."

Several people in the audience winced. Tyranitar… has a bit of a reputation. So do I, really. Ever since they raised the legal age of pokemon trainers to eighteen, the 'trainer schools' have been making a lot of money. I really hadn't wanted to enroll, since it would strap me for cash, but without it, I couldn't really raise my (then) Larvitar legally, and I just didn't want to waste time hiding my training with her. Now that she's fully evolved, we've sort of decimated everyone's pokemon at least once, even pokemon like Breloom, who logically have a double type advantage over Tyranitar. But then again… we never play fair.

The pokemon league representative (I never bothered to remember his name) called out, "Alright Charizard, let's start out with Steel Wing!"

I remained silent, as the Charizard jetted forward, its wings glowing silver. Tyranitar waited for the exact moment, then grabbed the wings of the pokemon, being pushed back for a moment, before spinning around, a centerpoint with a spinning Charizard on the outside. I said lightly, "Now, how about a little electricity?"

Tyranitar let the Charizard loose, but fired a Thunderbolt at it as it attempted to regain its bearings, causing the high-powered pokemon to shudder.

The rep paused, then called out, "Earthquake!"

I laughed, as Tyranitar defended herself with her OWN Earthquake. And since the Charizard was on the ground to trigger the move… when its seismic wave lost the battle, it was knocked over. "Tyranitar, I think it's time for our cheap tricks, don't you agree?"

Tyranitar looked back, and smirked, before disappearing.

She reappeared above the pokemon as it started to get up, and landed a high-velocity Body Slam, before disappearing as the Charizard struck out blindly with Metal Claw.

We allowed the pokemon time to get up, and into the air, before I called, "Darkstorm."

Tyranitar looked back, and asked me "Tyranitar?"

I nodded. "I think you've got the second part down. If you don't, we can always work on it later. It's still a nasty move, either way."

Tyranitar nodded, and raised her head skyward, roaring at the sky. Dark, ominous looking clouds formed. The representative, guessing, called out, "Get above the clouds, and fire down Fire Blasts!'

The Charizard complied… pity. The clouds opened up, releasing a black-colored rain.

This was something I'd worked out on my own. Sort of a Hail move, mixed with Rain Dance. Except what it hurt wasn't everything that wasn't an ice type, or boost water moves that much. No, what it really did was damage non-dark types, and moderately recharged / healed dark type pokemon.

So when the rain fell on me, I didn't mind it at all. Neither did Tyranitar, despite the fact that it was water landing on her. She'd long since become immune to weak effects like that, she could even swim if need be, and the energy the storm gave her more than healed the miniscule damage. A Fire Blast landed nearby, but I ignored it, the Charizard was aiming blind. Besides, after going through all that moisture, they were really weak attacks, even a normal human could endure one with second degree burns afterwards.

However, I could hear other people shrieking about how it itched, or in one case, burned. I tuned them out, as Tyranitar did the next stage, and launched a lot of electrical energy into the sky… the stormcloud, already black, became even darker, and was filled with flashes of electrical energy.

The storm continued to whirl, with no signs of the Fire Blasts anymore. Finally, a plummeting figure told me all I needed to know, and I called out, "Tyranitar, end the storm! Sunny Day!"

She nodded, and the clouds cleared up, revealing the sun again. Some last trickles of rain fell, as the Charizard managed a rough crash-landing.

The pokemon league representative seemed to be in shock, as he returned his pokemon, battered and obviously defeated. I smiled slightly, and turned to the crowd, bowing mockingly (Tyranitar 'bowed' as well), before I returned my pokemon, and walked up to the representative. His pale skin was reddened… obviously, his natural alignment wasn't anywhere near Dark. I'd guess Psychic, if I had to…

The feeling of a psychic probe confirmed my guess, though I laughed at the effects to myself – he could probe all he wanted, he'd never get anything out of my mind. I said coolly, "If you're one of the League's more powerful trainers, then I'm really going to enjoy challenging Gym Leaders. Even with super-effective moves, you didn't land a single hit." I smirked at his expression, and added, "And stay out of my mind. I'm a Dark trainer, and I felt that. You don't want Tyranitar worried about my health, do you? She's really protective of me…"

The man paled, and went to speak with the principle. I yawned, and re-took my seat, ignoring the fact that people had moved far enough away that the area around me could define 'pariah'. Eh, not that I care.

Very shortly after that, the principle beckoned toward me. I knew it was ME – after all, few people were actually on a 'he knows my name' basis with the man.

He seemed to be annoyed, as he said to me, "Why did you do that, Alexander? You embarrassed that man, who has gone out of his way to come here."

I rolled my eyes, and responded in a similar tone, "Why did he come? To spread hate, lies, and misinformation? His pokemon league is a bunch of crap… the only reason I'm bothering is so I can get a license, then I'm outta here."

The man scowled at me. He's never liked my attitude – unlike most of my peers, I don't want to become a champion. Na, I just want to raise a little hell with Tyranitar and my other pokemon, and enjoy myself.

After all, I'm living on borrowed time. Sooner or later, someone'll figure out that I'm not human. And even if I end up killing whoever it is (Absol blades are so useful, in that respect), people will come looking, find me…

Finally, he sighed, and waved a hand. "You're suspended for a week. I don't want to see you in the halls."

I shrugged, and turned, walking towards the pokemon center. Nurse Joy wasn't expecting me until later, but I don't think she'd mind. That one Houndoom had been making a fuss, and I was one of the few people that could get practically any dark type to calm down… and subdue any Psychic type, if need be.

&&&&&

I came in to the sight of pandemonium. Some idiot kid had let loose a Murkrow, and the thing was picking fights with everything, cawing / laughing as it wove through the angry pokemon attacks.

That was, until I grabbed it by the neck, and yanked it out of the air. Absols have very good reflexes… and I liked to use mine, so I'm fairly fast on the reflex. I glared into the bird's eyes, and said, "Don't… do… it… again. Understand?" I growled under my breath, "Sol, Absol Ab…"

The Murkrow started to caw, until I glared, and it meekly nodded. I released it, and it flew to its trainer, nearly hiding behind him. I glared at the trainer, and said coldly, "Are you an idiot, or just plain stupid? A Murkrow that young is going to do something like that." I caught Joy frowning, and said apologetically, "Sorry. But that Murkrow is young, grabbing it out of the air was the quickest way to stop it."

The student trainer looked outraged (ten year old, probably his first pokemon), but the other trainers (some of them looked old enough to be licensed) were sending me thankful looks. I added to Joy, "I'll be out in a minute, gotta get cleaned up. League rep, and Tyranitar wanted a fight."

Joy shook her head with a sigh, as I went into the employee only area, got changed out of my school uniform (nearly a suit in my opinion), and into a more comfortable white shirt and pants. Something about 'traditional' for a nurse to wear these colors, or something. Not that it mattered, I was really just an aid. Though it was a pain, because I had to shift my scythes away… and I liked being in my 'natural' state.

I walked back out, and checked on the Houndoom in one of the recovery rooms. He looked up as I approached, before growling, "You're early."

I replied lightly, "Yeah, I got kicked out of class for starting a fight again. How's your horn coming along?"

The Houndoom looked pained, before sighing. "It is healing, but my pride is still severely damaged. What is a Houndoom without their horns?"

I sighed, and rubbed a spot between his ears, saying gently, "One who had a horrible human as a trainer."

Bitterly, the Houndoom went down the same line… "And yet he walked away with no punishment. If this happened in the pack, he would be shamed."

I smiled slightly, and leaned down, whispering in his ear, "He is shamed. He's castrated."

I stood back, as the Houndoom shot me an incredulous look, before it bellowed with laughter. Knowing he'd probably be a far better patient now, I left the room after looking over the other pokemon – a Scyther with a bad scythe, a Pidgy with a broken wing, and several other pokemon.

I went up to the counter, and ducked under it, saying, "I think the Houndoom will be a better patient now, I told him about what happened to his trainer at the hospital."

Joy bit her lip, before sighing. She rubbed her temples, and said, "Alex, can you take over? I'm going in back, I need to take a break. Chansy, you stay here."

Chansy eyed me warily (she's never liked me, since she knows I'm part Disaster Pokemon), before nodding, as Joy staggered into the back room. I winced inwardly – damn, she must have pulled another long shift.

I minded the counter, but there wasn't a lot to do, really. Knowing the old fart, he'd called off battle training for the day, and was instead covering 'official pokemon league attacks' again. Every time I used one of my unique techniques, like Dark-bolt or Darkness Storm, he tried to head off other people trying to do the same.

A younger kid (Aprilbe eleven or so) came up, carrying an injured Eevee. He looked at me in confusion, and asked, "Uhm… where's nurse Joy?"

I responded in a far gentler tone than my usual 'I will eat your soul' type thing, "She's taking a break. I'm her assistant… you want your Eevee healed?"

The sandy-haired eleven year old nodded weakly. "She fell from kinda high, and can't walk."

I nodded slightly, making a note on a pad of paper, and said, "Can you return her to her pokeball?"

He nodded, and produced a pokeball, returning the Eevee. I took the ball from him, and turned around. I flicked the healing machine into analysis mode, and placed the single pokeball inside of it.

After a few moments, it spat out a printout. I looked it over, and blinked. Huh… no broken bones, just some torn muscles that would heal so long as it took it easy for a week or so, and a very lightly bruised bone, which would heal in about four days. I re-read the printout, and then set the machine to healing mode. It wouldn't do much, but it would shorten the recovery time by a few days or so.

Just to be safe, I released the Eevee, and what it did fit – it immediately winced, and stood on three legs. I picked it up, probed her leg carefully with a finger. I could feel the same signs – the muscle didn't feel right, and it felt like I could almost touch the bone. I extended a tendril of dark energy to probe, and the bone felt fine, though the nerves around it were screaming bloody murder. I asked the pokemon, as I came out of my trance, "How bad does it hurt, Eevee?" I had to focus hard, since normal type language was difficult for me to understand… "It hurts when I put weight on it, but I think the bone isn't broken… though why I'm telling you this…"

I nodded, and said softly, "You'll be alright. No battles or such for a week, you take it easy. By then, your muscles will be fine. If you feel better sooner, let your trainer know. And if it gets worse, you get him to take you here immediately."

The Eevee looked at me curiously, before asking, "You can understand…" it took a breath, sneezed, and said, "Oh…" It shivered slightly. I shook my head, and returned it into the pokeball, handing it back to the student/trainer. It looked like he went to the more prestigious one… I thought they taught pokemon language there. Guess they're doing a crappy job of it. "She'll be healed fully in a week. Until then, no battles, and she generally takes it easy. And try to get her to sleep as much as she can, she tore a lot of muscles, sleep helps them heal faster." I scribbled down what the damage was, and handed it to him, adding on, "Come back in about five days to get a checkup, or give that slip to your school's pokemon healer. They'll be able to make sure Eevee's back to full strength. And if she shows signs of being worse off, bring her in quick."

The student trainer nodded, but he looked curious, for some reason. I waited patiently (after all, it was dead-hours until school ended – most the time, the student/trainers used the school's facility to heal their pokemon), until he blurted, "How did you understand her?"

I smiled slightly, and asked, "Don't they teach pokemon languages at your school? I'm sort of… self-taught. Dark types I can understand best, but I usually get an idea at least of what they're saying."

The student/trainer nodded, and walked away. The other trainers lounging about though, was… odd. I didn't recognize most of them… one or two I did, they came to visit their injured pokemon. But the majority of them, I had no clue about.

I shrugged, knowing I'd find out soon enough.

I had no idea how right I was…

&&&&&

I couldn't help it, I whistled, as Joy explained. A festival, where the League was offering any student the opportunity to get a trainer's license early, if they could prove their knowledge.

Joy, knowing my thoughts, said, "I expect you'll want that day off?"

I shrugged, nodding. "Yeah. I'll take a pager with me, if you get any problems with some of my pokemon specialties, I'll drop what I'm doing and help out. But I think that the nearby schools will have their temporary pokemon field healing stations setup, so you shouldn't get that many people."

Joy nodded, with a slight shiver. She was a nurse, but that didn't mean that she liked every pokemon. She'd had a bad experience with a Houndour, and when she found out that I could handle any dark type under the sun (after all, they could sense that I was one of them, in a way), she passed off handling the few seriously injured dark types off to me, while she supervised. "I just don't understand how you can control them so easily… it's like you were born to handle dark types."

In a way… she was right. I was born to manage dark types… or was it reborn? The original idea had been to have a human sensitive to the ebb and flow of nature… and what better pokemon than Absol, who sensed upcoming disasters? Dunno who made me what I was, but I knew why, at least.

That's why they changed me… whoever they were. I blame the pokemon league, it's something that they'd do. But for all I know, it was Team Rocket or something.

After all, no one cares about one street-kid.

&&&&&

It was the day of the festival, and I was wandering around it, since the battle-trial wasn't for awhile yet. There was a massive amount of students, but since I was suspended, I didn't have to dress in my uniform… so I wore my favorite color. Blue-black T-shirt, vest (white, for the sheer amusement of flashing my Absol colors in people's faces), pants, and a pair of modified shoes that were sized roughly to my paws, so I could walk around 'normally'. Hell, I'd even worn gloves today, just because I was in the mood. They were fingerless, but it still suited my mood.

I'd even managed to find my black scythe-hat that I thought I'd lost in the Void.

A few people recognized me, but no one could really keep me out, it was a league sponsored event, and adult trainers were wandering around… they could hardly stop me, just because I had a little suspension.

I paused, spotting some evolutionary stones, and walked over to the display. Oddly, they had a black stone that wasn't a moonstone on display as well…

'Unknown stone. While this stone holds power that science can detect, none can guess what sort of energy fills it.'

I reached my hand out toward it, earning a suspicious glance from the woman managing the stall, and 'felt' the energy coming off of it, before pausing to stare at it.

Without thinking, I released Tyranitar. She looked about in confusion, until I tapped her, and said, "Take a gander at that stone. You feeling something from it?"

Tyranitar looked toward where I was pointing, and leaned in close. Her eyes narrowed, before she leaned back, nodding. "Tar, Tyranitar."

I nodded as well, saying, "Yeah. It feels like some sort of focusing tool for dark energies."

The woman, who obviously had been listening, asked me, "Excuse me? What did you just say?"

I looked the woman over. She had purple hair, a pair of blue jeans on, and some basic shirt… she didn't exactly look comfortable in the outfit. A white lab coat hung from nearby… damn. This looked like one of the pokemon professors, though I couldn't for the life of me guess. "I said it feels like a focusing tool for dark energies. Aprilbe someone left it in the Void or whatever the pokemon professors call it to soak up some energy, because this thing is radiating enough dark energy, even I can feel it."

The woman looked surprised, and I chuckled, adding, "Though I'm very strongly tuned to dark energy, for a human. Tyranitar told me she felt the same… can she hold it? Between the two of us, we might be able to guess…"

The woman whipped out a clipboard (yup, professor), and said, "Go ahead, but that thing has a tracking device on it."

I nodded, and palmed the stone. One I touched it, I felt bathed in dark energies, almost like I was back in the Void. I held out my hand to Tyranitar, who gently touched it with her claw...

To my eye, she took on a radiating black aura. It wasn't evil, just a sign of increased power. When she does her Faint Attack trick (true, most Tyranitar can't, but I know Faint Attack, and I've taught her how to use it), she gains a similar aura…

"Tar, Tyranitar, ran, tar, Tyranitar…"

I blinked, then said, "Huh. Aprilbe."

The professor sent me an expectant look, and I translated, "She guessed something like a magnet for an electric type. But it's more powerful than those… damn, feels like it doubles your dark energies."

Tyranitar looked at me in surprise, then growled, "Tyranitar Tyranit, Tyranitar Tyran."

I nodded, but countered, "Well, you're part rock type. If I was a pokemon, I'd be pure dark type. And you're already very powerful… try to draw on your dark energies, and compare it to your normal levels."

Tyranitar nodded, and then shut her eyes, giving off an aura I knew even human eyes would see. The female professor was scribbling away, while we were getting an interested crowd, who were trying to figure out what was going on.

She re-opened her eyes, and said, "Ranitar, Tyranitar, ranitar, Tyranitar."

I smiled at her weakly. "So, it did double your energies, when you checked your pool of energy?"

Tyranitar nodded. I dropped my hand, making her loose contact with the stone, and she added thoughtfully, "Tyranitar, Tyran, Tyranitar, Tyranitar."

I asked in confusion, "What do you mean, the energy didn't disappear? Does it feel like it's recharging?"

Tyranitar shook her head, and I slowly said, "Ahh… that makes sense… it's a link to the Void itself. It doubles a dark type's energy, and as long as they hold it, they can't run out of energy… but when they let go, the doubled energy remains until the pokemon burns it off… Tyranitar, get rid of that excess, I don't want to know what happens when you have too much dark energy stored inside of you for too long."

Tyranitar's eyes widened, and she nodded, firing off a beam of pure dark energy skyward, like a Hyper Beam. A dark-blast, I called it.

While she drained away the excess, I put the stone back down (I drained my excess energy into the Void – I have an innate connection to it), but the woman / professor wasn't interested in it apparently, she was looking up from her clipboard, to Tyranitar, and then back to her clipboard, scribblings increased even more.

I waited for Tyranitar to finish up draining away her excess energy. She eventually shut off the beam, and shut her eyes, looking tired. She sent me a look, before I said, "Your body's adjusting. Give it a minute, I'm not returning you yet."

Tyranitar nodded, and stood there, her tail idly waiving. Some students, even my age (near-trainer age, 17 in my case) were gawking.

The woman eventually said, "What was that beam of dark energy she used?"

I blinked, and said, "Dark-blast. We use it all the time in battles. What, didn't the school let you know about that? Or Darkstorm? Or the other dozen-odd moves I've been using in pokemon battles?"

The woman, looking mad, shook her head. I said lightly, "Well, I'm still suspended, so I'll talk to you later…"

She blinked, and said, "Oh. Professor Ivy. It's a pleasure to meet you..." "Alexander Dark. You can guess where the last name comes from."

Ivy gave a tinkling laugh (for once, it didn't irritate me), and nodded, offering her hand. I shook it – she had some interesting calluses. I looked Tyranitar over analytically, noting that her aura was back from wavering, and held up her pokeball. "You good, Tyranitar?"

She grumbled, and shook her head. I nodded, and said dryly to Ivy, "I'm a student at Rustboro pokemon academy. Dr. Fillswalp is the one who is in charge, you'll probably see him later today, when he tries to get me…"

"Alexander Dark, what are you doing here? You're suspended!"

I muttered quietly, "Speak of the Salamence." The comment wasn't lost on Ivy, though. As Fillswalp tried to drag me away, she intervened, saying, "Doctor, I just saw your student's pokemon using an attack I, in my years of pokemon research, have never seen before. Yet, as I understand it, it is your job, as principle and league representative in charge of Rustboro Pokemon Academy, to inform the scientific community when events like this happen. From what your student tells me, he has been using moves like these for some time… so WHY have I not heard?"

She was PISSED. I exchanged a grin with Tyranitar, as she continued to chew him out. She was also ranting at him, something about how I was a natural dark affined human, something he should have also informed the league about. Something about being of use to professors, and how I could have helped them unlock the stone's secrets months ago. I was too busy trying not to laugh, to hear what she was saying.

Eventually, she wound down, and turned to me, asking, "Would you be interested in serving as an aid in my lab? Your talent would be quite an aid in my research, since I've been delving into the myths about dark pokemon…"

I sighed, and said, "Well, if my challenge fails, sure. But I'm fairly sure I have a shot at winning…"

That's when the idiot had to speak. Fillswalp said smugly, "Unfortunately, only student-trainers of a certain caliber might participate. And you're not one of those students, Alexander."

I rolled my eyes, and sighed. I've crushed EVERYONE in the school with one of my pokemon or another, and I know that Tyranitar has done a beatdown on practically every student trainer in the school at least once. "And the requirement is… what, exactly?"

"Having a good record. The league does not want troublemakers."

I sighed, and said, "That's it, I quit. Fillswalp, you're an idiot in every sense of the word. And since nothing's formal, I don't hand over my pokemon, since they're registered to me…" At that, Fillswalp winced. I'd gotten Tyranitar myself as a Larvitar that no one wanted from the pokemon center, Flygon from a unwanted pokemon auction, Charizard as an egg from a friend as a 'thank you'… Gengar I could keep because I captured him (as a Haunter), and Manectric was my 'starter' pokemon. The academy registered them to the trainer, not to the academy, and encouraged student-trainers to capture other pokemon… so even if I quit, they were now my 'pets'. I couldn't legally capture any more pokemon, or get into official battles unless I got my license (I'd just take that damned test later), but no one would be able to touch my pokemon. Just as well, they'd probably just escape to the Void, and return to me anyway.

I turned to Ivy, and said, "Professor Ivy, can we talk about that aid position?"

Ivy nodded, looking daggers at Fillswalp. She gestured for me to follow her, and then led me behind the counter / into the booth. She took a seat, while I remained standing. I chuckled as Tyranitar effectively drove off the onlookers by using small dark-bolts aimed toward the staring crowd.

It got them moving. Ivy was back to writing on her clipboard, before she looked back up at me, and said, "At eighteen, assuming you have been working with a professor for most of the time, you can get a trainer's license. Now, can you tell me just how many attacks your pokemon have perfected, of your own making?"

I blinked, and shut my eyes, thinking. "Somewhere around fifteen moves or so. Some aren't offensive in nature… there's a shield that absorbs anything a dark type is resistant to, and Void aid, which is a recovery move…"

I opened my eyes again – Ivy was looking at me in frank shock. "I heard about the storm-attack you produced, what was that?"

I shrugged. "Darkstorm, literally. It's something of a composite of Rain Dance, and Hail. It makes the sky rain down dark-charged water. Water types get some advantage out of it, but anything that isn't a dark type gets damaged, while dark types are healed slightly, and reenergized by the water. Tyranitar charged the cloud with electrical energy after that… the rest is just natural."

Ivy nodded, looking thoughtful, before she said, "People said it caused them pain, though… why? Natural types?"

I sighed, and rubbed my eyes, before saying, "It doesn't bug me, the water feels good to me, but… yeah, that sounds right."

Ivy nodded again. "Hmm… well, do you have any experience with pokemon research?"

I shook my head. "Pokemon center aid, I took over Nurse Joy's dark type cases when she found out I like them."

Ivy blinked, and said slowly, "I have been needing someone who knows basic pokemon healing… I'll talk to nurse Joy. How can I reach you?"

I grinned weakly, and said, "Send a dark type to find me. If I'm not in the Void with one of my pokemon, it'll be able to at least get my pokemon's attention."

Ivy looked surprised by my comment, for some reason. Why, though, I didn't get. I was supposedly a dark-affined human… so what was so surprising about my staying in the Void?

&&&&&

I was resting in my 'house', as it was. In reality, it was the Void. Since no one but pokemon could come here, I was in full hybrid mode, which meant my tail was out, my scythe was visible, and I glimmered slightly in the dim light of the Void. After all… it wasn't like I needed clothing to sleep. When I enter full hybrid mode, there's nothing that really needs to be hid. My hair covers up my privates well enough.

Besides, it's too tiring to wear clothing. The Void is different from the world… it doesn't like humans. I'm tied to it because I'm part Absol, so it doesn't mind me, but if I wear clothing, I get the feeling of a dark presence weighing on my mind. So… I go without.

One of the advantages I'd gained for becoming a hybrid was the ability to go without. I didn't need sleep. I could just slip into the Void, and meditate within it. The place helped me undo the stress of daily life, which is why I'd given up on relying on normal sleep most of the time. On occasion, I slept in the Void because my mind screamed at me that I needed it sometimes, but that was the limit.

A canine figure approached, then it resolved into… Houndoom? The one from the center… what was he doing here?

He walked up to me, looking… almost normal. He didn't even seem surprised… he commented dryly to me, "Somehow, I should have known you would rest here."

I shrugged, saying simply, "Absol."

Houndoom chuckled, and said, "Joy and another woman want you at the pokemon center. From the sounds they're making, apparently the other woman wants you to desperately come to work for her. What did you do?"

I shrugged. "Remember all those dark type moves I invented?" At Houndoom's nod, I grinned, saying, "She just found out about them. Principle at the school I was at didn't report them. And we discovered what one of the things she was studying does…"

Houndoom nodded, then disappeared. I sighed, and released Tyranitar, before suppressing my hybrid traits to a great extent, so my hands were human, not paws… and the rest of it, even re-growing my nose. I put on the loose hat that covered up my scythe, then got dressed. The whatever-it-was seemed to realize I was human, its mind seemed to turn toward me. I looked toward Tyranitar, once I was fully dressed, and touched her arm. With a blurring of reality, we were back in the real world, in the pokemon center reception center.

Joy waved for me to join her, and I walked up to her. "There a problem?"

Joy smiled weakly, and said, "Not really. I knew this was coming… but could you take Houndoom with you? His trainer won't come back for him, and he seems to be fond of you."

I blinked, saying, "Actually, you might want to consider keeping him with you. He's been less bitter, right?" At Joy's nod, I said quietly, "Keep him as a guard pokemon. He'll be able to communicate with the injured pokemon, and… well, if things are bad for a dark type, knowing him, he'll try to get me to help. You do know that Faint Attack can be used to carry messages, right?"

Joy looked surprised, then thoughtful. "You know, you have a point… go in back, Ivy's waiting for you. I don't know what you did, but she's nearly desperate to have you…"

I smiled, and went to the back door, going inside. Like Joy had said, Ivy was there. She was looking over the injured pokemon, though apparently she was just trying to burn time or something. I coughed, and she turned around. "Ah, mr. Dark… good to see you."

I smiled weakly, and said, "So… what's up?"

She smiled faintly, and said, "Well, assuming you're still interested, I'd like you to take that aid position. It does mean that your pokemon will be studied, but I'm a firm believer in pokemon being studied in their natural state, so they won't be… stuffed up in a lab."

I laughed, and said, "Sounds good. So when am I expected?"

She produced a pair of airline tickets, and handed me one. I looked over the date – wow, she moved fast. It was scheduled for later today. I could have just used the Void to cheat, and get there well before an airline could (the Void was a realm where distance in the real world didn't matter). I nodded, and then checked my wallet. I'd hit my bank a few days ago for food, so I had enough money for the time being, and I could access it later at this Valencia Island… assuming they had Pokemon First National Branch… which was likely.

&&&&&

I shoved my bag into the overhead storage, and took a seat besides Professor Ivy, as she now wanted me to call her. After she got settled, she said to me, "You know, you can take off your hat…"

I shook my head, grinning. "No, I like this hat. I'll keep it on." Besides, this was going to be a long flight. Ivy apparently was holding off on announcing what I'd told her about the black stone until she had done some tests, reconfigured for dark energies, though she had told me she'd contacted the other professors (all the tree-named ones), and supposedly, Professor Oak was going to be arriving at the island the same day we were… I didn't really want to know why. Hopefully, he just wanted to know about the black stone, or the custom-attacks I'd developed. Because I was getting leery of the 'natural dark alignment' that Ivy occasionally questioned me about. True, it was how I managed to get away with 'sleeping' in the Void…

It was a quiet flight… Professor Ivy slept through most of it. Apparently, she was used to this, and traveled a lot. I didn't sleep a lot, but I did let my mind wander, and zone out. The horror stories I'd heard of squalling children and whining were true, though I was surrounded by bored adults who wanted to sleep, so at least I didn't have someone kicking my chair.

I did nod off for a little bit, but a baby's cry woke me up.

We set down, and I nudged Ivy awake. She yawned, and gathered her bag from the overhead storage compartment (I'd taken my backpack down). Once we'd gotten through the terminal, she looked about, then gestured for me to follow her. She led me to a group of three teenaged girls, who were waving. The three said gladly, "Professor!"

Ivy smiled, and said warmly, "Hello, you three." To me, it seemed like the three were almost like her children. Not biologically, but… well, it was like she'd raised them. One, a redhead, asked me curiously, "Are you the Alex that the Professor mentioned was going to be with us for a year?"

I nodded, grinning weakly. "Yeah, that's me."

She grinned, then frowned. I looked at her in confusion, and she asked, "What happened to your hair?"

I blinked, then brushed aside a white strand of hair. I didn't get why she asked… "What about it?"

She looked at me in confusion, as the other three fell silent. Apparently, even professor Ivy wanted to know about it… eventually, the redhead said, "You're hair's white… I'm sorry, but was it always like that?"

I blinked, then shook my head. "No. It's just… gotten like this. I guess from exposure to the Void, ever since I first went there, it's been white."

The redhead blinked, then said slowly, "Oh… wow, I'm surprised you can stand that place. I accidentally went there once, and nearly went crazy after two minutes of exposure."

I smiled slightly, and responded quietly, "I sleep in there these days. It's better than sleeping on the street, which was my alternative."

She winced, while I shrugged philosophically. I didn't remember much from my pre-hybrid days. Just that I'd been a street rat… whoever it was who took me, did me a sort-of favor, really. Because I'd settled in Rustboro, with a pile of stolen cash from whoever-it-was, cash that they'd squirreled away in the same place I was kept. Bad move, when the would-be escaper knows how to use Faint Attack from interacting with various dark pokemon.

I shut out my memories, and instead just let the three aids and Ivy's talk wash over me. I wasn't sleepy, I just didn't feel like joining in that much.

One of the aids nudged me, and asked curiously, "Is it true you've invented moves? I heard Oak how excited he was to hear about someone inventing about fifteen new dark moves…"

I chuckled weakly, and said, "Yeah, that's me alright. I like dark types, so I developed moves that don't require physical contact to deal damage. It's one of the flaws with the current moveset."

She blinked, and asked curiously, "Well, what's one of the moves?"

I chuckled, and said softly, "Well, Dark-bolt's one of them… there's about fifteen moves in all, with one side effect to them that I haven't been able to pin down yet." I shrugged in the cramped space (there wasn't a lot of room, so even though I wasn't in the middle, I was still cramped).

She blinked, then rejoined the others in their conversation. I went back to zoning out.

&&&&&

I released Tyranitar, as we walked up to the building. Ivy's lab was actually on a separate island. Her lab was fairly impressive to my eye, especially since I hadn't really seen any professor's lab before. I followed the four women inside… it was surprisingly a mess. A really BAD mess.

Tyranitar growled, "Amazing, how sloppy some humans are."

I shot back, "I resent that, Tyranitar. I'm human."

Tyranitar looked at me levelly for a moment, then snorted, staying quiet. Well… she was right, I'm not exactly human, I just like to act like I am. I returned her, after giving her a spiteful look, then followed them on the grand tour of the building… that ended at a battlefield setup.

I blinked, and looked in confusion at it, before one of the aids (Sarah, I think – she's the redhead, the other is blond, while the third is nearly black-haired – easy way to tell 'em apart) stepped into one trainer box. "Come on! We always have a battle to test how good someone is with their pokemon! It's tradition!"

I sighed, and stepped into the other box. Sarah released a Cloyster, while I paused to think, before pulling one black and red colored pokeball, and throwing it onto the field, catching it as it returned.

Charizard, in all his black, red, and cream-color glory, stood opposite the Cloyster. Due to his additional type of dark (somehow, his Tyranitar father passed that on), he was a 'shiny' pokemon, though I suspected all his brothers and sisters would be like that. Charizard looked over his black wing at me, then roared lazily, looking over his foe. I shook my head at his antics, and said, "Focus, Charizard. Just how many times have you gotten hit with water because you don't focus?"

Charizard growled, and then nodded. Another aid (April, the nearly-black haired one) stood in the judge's box, and said, "Ready… begin!"

Before the Cloyster could make a move, Charizard made the sun become intense, thanks to Sunny Day. Sarah looked a bit taken aback, but ordered, "Cloister, use Ice Beam!"

I called out, "Dodge with Aerial Ace, and then switch to a DC Flamethrower!"

Charizard launched himself into the air, and disappeared. He reappeared behind the Cloyster, and then launched a black burst of fire at the Cloyster from behind. The pokemon took the hit without passing out… she wasn't bad. I was better, but there weren't many people who could beat me once my pokemon got rolling.

Sarah called out, "Use Surf to defend yourself!"

Charizard launched himself higher into the air without a word, while I scowled at the incoming burst of water. Discretely, I used a Thunderbolt just as the water was about to hit, causing most of it to split into oxygen and hydrogen. The stuff that did hit me went the same way, when I used a Dark-bolt to fake electricity, and ran it across my body, ignoring the tingling and slight itching it gave me.

Charizard came back down, looking mad. I said lightly, "Charizard, you think you're up for a Dark Duplicate?"

Charizard growled, and then blurred into the Void. Two Charizards blurred back into existence. Ivy called in surprise, "What is a Dark Duplicate?"

I grinned, as the fake Charizard flew at headlong speed toward the Cloyster. Sarah called out, "Hit it with Ice Beam!'

The Charizard whirled around the attack, and ran headlong into the Cloyster, before exploding in a whirlpool of black energy that made the Cloyster pass out.

Charizard crashed to the ground from the after-effects, but still looked able to fight. I called to him, "Use Void Aid, and take your time. Battle's over."

Charizard nodded, and disappeared. Sarah returned her passed out Cloyster, then looked at me in surprise. "What were those attacks you ordered? DC Flamethrower, and Dark Duplicate… you made them up?"

I nodded, and responded, "DC stands for Dark Corruption. It works for most physical attacks, and most elemental attacks. It adds on dark energies to the attack, and some extra damage, though it reduces the effectiveness of the attack if it's normally super-effective against a pokemon. And Dark Duplicate is literally an energy-clone of the pokemon, that suicide-rushes the foe, and explodes. Only a dark type can pull it off."

Ivy interjected, "But Charizards are not dark types, they're flying and fire types."

I shrugged, and grinned slightly. "Charizard is… different. I've tested him myself, as has Tyranitar. He's a dark type pokemon… his father was a Tyranitar. I don't have a clue how he inherited the type, but he has."

Ivy looked surprised. Another voice, an older man's, said, "Well, I expected to see some new attacks, but I never expected to be proven wrong like that…"

I whirled, and spotted a white-haired man with a labcoat on. This had to be Oak… I said lightly, "If it helps, no one at my school believed me, or anyone else except for the nurse Joy at the pokemon center, when he tested positive for being a dark type. Kept on saying that it was impossible, according to Professor Oak."

The man smiled slightly, before sighing. "I suppose it is fair to assume you are Alexander Dark?"

I nodded, grinning. I added, "Charizard will be back soon, he's off recovering in the Void right now. The ambient dark energy there lets him recover quickly."

Oak looked surprised by my comment, before nodding. He seemed to look me over, and nod to himself, before asking, "How long did it take you to develop those moves? I've never seen anything like them before."

I blinked, and started thinking. I'd come up with Dark-blast by sheer accident, when I was panicked and on the run. Dark-bolt was a derivative of Dark-blast, so I didn't wear myself out from unleashing so much energy… Darkstorm, and the specific moves I'd developed for my pokemon were last… "It depends. Would it help if I told you I developed Dark-blast from sheer accident?"

The older man looked at me in surprise, as I let my human side fade away, replaced by my Absol side.

Cue screams of shock… now…

"What… what just happened to him!"

"EEK! He's a hybrid!"

I turned, and looked at the two, taking off my hat with a twinge of my scythe. I said in human language, "What, that makes me sub-human, like the League says now?"

One of the aids… April, I think, flinched, as did Sarah. Christina, however… her jaw was down, but she sure as hell wasn't screaming.

Charizard reappeared beside me, and growled out, "You sure about this, brother mine?"

I nodded, replying quietly, "If it doesn't work, we can always escape." Charizard nodded, and shifted his stance so it was protective of me.

Oak, however… he looked torn between joy, and fear. Ivy looked to be the same. "You can control your form, and you haven't gone insane?"

I brought up my paws that had replaced my fingers, and rubbed them to the place where my human nose had been. I replied lightly, "Sol, Absol Sol." (Of course)

I freed my tail, and looked over at Ivy, adding on, "I hope this doesn't change things."

Ivy blinked, then shook her head. "I've never believed what the League claims. They have never let one of us pokemon professors speak to or examine any of the hybrids they capture… so most of us doubt their actions. And besides, now I have an assistant who can give me a dark type's perspective on the stone."

I shrugged, nodding.

&&&&&

It took awhile, before April and Sarah came within yards of me, after I pulled my stunt. Even then, they were suspicious of me, even though Ivy admonished them to keep my state a secret.

I ignored it, and instead focused on working with Ivy and Oak. They took my abilities in stride, surprisingly, and were focusing on the dark stone.

I held the stone in my hands, charged it with a bit of Dark energy, and then passed it to professor Oak. He placed it in the machine, and then pressed a few keys. Thus far, none of the machinery they had could really pin down the dark energies, so instead, they were analyzing it by a standard of comparison. Since I could charge stones with dark energy temporarily, it meant they had a nearly unlimited supply of temporary black stones.

The machine's screen flickered, and showed a chart of information. Oak frowned, looking at the display. He turned to me, and said, "This is… odd. It's obvious your charging is temporary, and the Void won't accept a human's presence… so how did this happen?"

I blinked, and said slowly, "Uh… professor? So long as you're nude, the Void doesn't care. I'm perfectly fine in there, but the… whatever it is… drives me nuts if I'm wearing clothing. I suspect the same applies for full humans."

Oak looked at me in surprise, then said slowly, "Well, that's interesting… I wonder… can your Tyranitar charge stones as well? Her type would make it the most likely to produce the largest output."

I shrugged, and released Tyranitar. She had already heard, and held out her arm. Oak passed her another stone, and she disappeared. Ivy arched an eyebrow at the sight, and asked, "Did you teach her Faint Attack, somehow?"

I nodded. "Yup. She had to be fully evolved to manage it, but I taught her how. Same goes for all of my pokemon, even Manectric."

Ivy nodded slightly. I'd already shown her that I could walk the void to skip distances, when it was my turn to pick up groceries from the nearby island.


	2. Mew's Error, a hybrid tale

A/N: This is another pokemon morph tale. Mew, this time. He can't change his form at all, and doesn't have Mew as his pokemon... in fact, they don't get along that well.

The city was sprawling, massive, and most of the dwellers weary of reports of hybrids. Rustburo hadn't had a case of a violent hybrid attacking in recent history, and as such, many of the populace questioned the constant media hyperbole and sweeping laws that outlawed hybrids, sometimes in areas making it a crime punishable by death.

One slim figure agreed with that sentiment as well. He was dressed in a pair of black-dyed jeans (spots of 'missed' blue betrayed that he'd done it himself), a rather battered shirt, and a mournful expression that would be suited to someone used to being afraid for so long, that fear no longer affected them anymore.

In truth, that was the case. He had been afraid for years… ever since his kind had been found out. He was one of those 'vicious hybrids', even though he'd only fought in justifiable self-defense.

His pokemon traits, luckily, were nearly impossible to spot. After all, no one got close enough to his skin to know that it was covered with very fine, and very short fur, or that his ears were not made of cartilage, but rather some other substance that only existed as long as he concentrated, otherwise it faded away quickly. That his eyes were purple no one cared about, nor that his hair was a pale white that meshed with his skin color. After all, he was a pokemon trainer, and many trainers were rather eccentric. Wearing contacts that altered your eye color wasn't even commented on (even though, that purple color was his own eyes, now), nor was dying your hair.

He paused at a sign, and curiously started to read over a page-long printout someone had posted onto it. It was a theory on the creation of hybrids.

'Hybrids, as it is well documented, are cases in which humans have mutated into pokemon/human composites. The source of this change however, has never truly been covered, even though more and more hybrids have appeared in recent years.

It is this author's opinion that hybrids are not created willingly, but rather, are subject to genetic experiments. Team Rocket's dabbling into gene splicing is well documented, and they are the recorded 'firsts' in creating a hybrid – if you count the hypothetical 'Mewtwo' (of which there is only theoretical proof of), then they are also to make the first human-pokemon fusion that was pure pokemon. It is entirely possible, that Giovanni, knowing that his downfall was arriving, set out to cause a panic by releasing hybrids into the world. With the failure of law enforcement to capture the core of the Rocket team, as well as Giovanni, this theory becomes more likely.

Team Rocket, using a clever 'bait', is buying itself time to hide, by using hybrids, and creating more of them. The few hybrids that have been captured peacefully from Rocket experimentation that has been confirmed, speak of horrible experiments that have left even the least-squeamish ill.

Yet more hybrids have appeared, and these cases have no proof of genetic experimentation. These cases, I would propose, are not actually humans, but pokemon, for one reason or another, that have gained human traits, either by accident or design. There is no real solution to these creatures but to…'

The figure scowled, and grabbed the paper, casually ripping it to shreds as he stormed away, one hand on a pokeball, seemingly drawing calm from it.

That paper was partially right, but he was NOT a damn freak that needed to be murdered. He had been HUMAN, just like the rest of those… bigots. With a sigh, he ran a hand down his face, looking for the pokemon center. Most of his kind had no clue why they'd become hybrids… sadly, he did know why, and it wasn't as 'romantic' as being mutated by Rockets… one day he was completely human, the next, he had fur, one hell of a nasty headache, and hanging around people made it worse, with a bunch of voices 'chatting' in his head painfully.

He'd found out that he was a hybrid fast enough. After all, when your friend-who-is-a-girl freaks out and run away from you screaming about a hybrid while looking over her shoulder at you, you figure it out quickly.

He sighed mutely, and looked around tiredly, before walking in the direction of the pokemon center. After getting a key from the nurse, he collapsed onto a bed, his six pokeballs still with him, and glowing faintly to those who were sensitive to psionic energies.

Unfortunately for the sleeping hybrid, the pokemon school was having a field trip that day… a regular tour of the pokemon center. The happily chatting schoolchildren wandered the halls, dismissed for the moment while Roxanne had a word with the nurse there. One of the young students happened to look inside the sleeping trainer's room, conveniently unlocked due to the hybrid's weariness, and blinked at the six pokeballs hanging from the sleeper's belt. A slight grin on her face, she slowly crept up to him, and extended one shaking hand to the pokeballs… only for a quick hand to grab her own shaking hand, and the trainer squeezed it painfully, his eyes blazing, the free hand… almost glowing, as far as she could tell. Something felt wrong about his skin, but she was in too much shock (and pain) to pay attention to that detail.

She gasped, and tried to free her hand, flinching from the pain traveling up her arm. The burning gaze of the trainer met her tearing eyes, and he released her almost slowly. He growled at her, and said in a groggy tone, "Idiot… try that with some people, you might get knifed. Touch 'em again, I won't be held for whatever happens."

Grumbling, he got up, and lifted the silently mouthing schoolgirl, and placed her easily outside of the room, shut the door, and locked it definitely, before going back to bed.

Roxanne, who had been walking the hall, glared at her student. "Mary, just what were you doing in that room?"

Mary slowly flushed, and inarticulately tried to stammer a disclaimer, but failed. Roxanne merely frowned, and said, "March, little lady. I'm going to have a word with your parents, you don't barge into rooms like that."

Still stammering, she followed Roxanne, as the irritated gym leader collected her class.

&&&&&

The hybrid awoke, and lazily rubbed his eyes, looking about with sleepy caution, before his purple eyes took on an eerie glow, and a purple haze spread from his body, covering the room, and then fading. He sighed, then shook his head, unlocked the door with just a gaze at the door, and walked out.

The nurse was already awake, and bright-eyed, even early in the morning (it was about six, according to the clocks). She looked curiously at him, and then took his pokeballs with a smile, saying, "I hope the students didn't disturb you."

He sighed, and said in response, "Unfortunately, one girl thought to grab one of my pokeballs. My fault for not locking up, but still…"

The nurse nodded, before sighing. "Roxanne already spoke to the girl." She looked down at a display, and said, "Anything else, Al?"

Al merely shook his head, and went to take a seat, while the nurse went to work healing his pokemon.

&&&&&

Ten minutes later, Al walked out, his pokeballs strapped to his belt. It was early morning – people were leaving for work, but there wasn't any soul younger than twenty on the streets. No trainers either, most tended to be noctowls with their sleeping patterns when they arrived at a pokemon center, though his own schedule was the inverse – he slept far better in the wilds, the middle of nowhere. Nowhere had no humans, and no humans meant all the prejudice he had to deal with was pokemon, and his partners could deal with those threats – bullies usually backed off after you snapped the spine of one of them without even an excuse of a 'fair fight', or whatever it was that trainers espoused about pokemon training. Sometimes, he just got away with being a 'child of Mew' and was left alone, but other times, that didn't work, and he went with the other option.

With a soft sigh, Al just looked skyward, narrowing his eyes as he did so, looking exhausted.

He started to move again when a female voice cut through the din of travel, saying loudly, "Excuse me… wait for a second!"

He turned slowly, and was greeted by a rather frazzled-looking Roxanne, who halted in front of him, a rather annoyed expression on her face, that shifted to an apologetic one. "I can't tell you how sorry I am about my student doing something like that…"

Al shrugged. "Eh, nothing new. Better her than some real thief… assault charges, even when it's defense of a pokemon, are a pain in the ass to deal with, law enforcement seems to have it out for me." He added very softly (in a bitter tone), "Biased bigoted bastards…"

Roxanne narrowed her eyes, taking in his rather… shoddy condition, before nodding. "I agree with you, it seems like the police here have been harassing trainers that travel through here... bunch of nonsense if you ask me. Pheh, a hybrid that looks almost completely human, that can kill off a town… yeah right. Hybrids are powerful, but all this fear… it's just not right."  
Al nodded. "Yeah. Met a girl who was a hybrid, actually…" at Roxanne's eager look, he continued, "She was a Persian hybrid. Rather kindhearted, so long as you didn't get on her bad side. Poor girl was recovering from a… rather nasty assault, she was raped repeatedly, and left for dead with her stomach sliced open. I doubt she'll ever be able to have kids, or even look at men for the rest of her life."

Roxanne shuddered, and said softly, "Poor girl…"

Al nodded again. "Yeah, poor girl indeed. She curled up into a ball every time I even came within a few meters of her, and tried to claw my face off if I actually touched her. I just don't get it… what inhuman monster has the right to do that, and say she's inhuman? They're the monsters."

A few passerby scowled at the trainer, which made him respond by almost cheerfully flicking the bird at them, and looking at Roxanne with a nearly hostile look. "Don't tell me you believe that monster crap."

Roxanne, rather than responding, started to chew on her lower lip, motioning for him to follow her. She led the way down several streets (the whole time, they were silent), before she reached a large building with the letters 'gym' over it. She quickly opened the doors, motioned for Al to get inside, and then shut them, leaving the two in darkness.

With a curse, Roxanne started to fumble around, looking for the light switch, when the lights turned on. She looked around, then blinked twice at Al standing beside the switch, looking rather irritated. "Why'd you bring me here?"

Roxanne sighed. "Because, someone was going to drag you to the police station soon, from what you said. My being sympathetic is one thing, I'm a gym leader, I can be eccentric, and they can't say a word… but a unknown trainer disappearing wouldn't mean much, even if you didn't turn up for years."

Al merely shrugged. "Wouldn't be the first time. I've been roughed up before… Gardevoir nearly killed the cops after she heard."

Roxanne sighed, a defeated look on her face. "It's not what it used to be like. When I was just a new gym leader… people weren't afraid, even with the two Teams around. Sure, we had to fight them off occasionally, but that was it. Now everyone lives in fear, over something that makes absolutely no sense. Hybrids used to be human, and still keep their minds… usually, from what I understand of it." She sighed again, looking like an old woman, rather than a twenty five year old who had yet to see grey hairs.

Al looked at the battlefield, a misty look in his purple eyes. "We used to be human. Now we're… something else." He snorted (ignoring Roxanne's stunned look), and added, "Destroy a city? Who could do that? It would need a hybrid of legendary status, and so far as I know, there's only a handful of 'em in existence, and mom and the other legendaries tend to keep them close to a sacred spot."

Roxanne mouthed silently for a moment, then asked directly, "You said 'we'. You're a hybrid?"

Al merely smirked. "Al, legendary hybrid of terrible power and might, speaking." He reached out, and shook her hand lightly (she hadn't extended it, but somehow, it still was out in front of her). Unlike her student, Roxanne noticed the feeling of fur against her skin, and recognized it. She looked him up and down (freeing her hand as well), before saying, "First time I've met one of your kind… it's amazing, you look so human."

Al smirked, and pointed to his eyes, which were still purple, and had a very faint light in them, one that looked like a trick of the eye. "Yeah, sure. Argue with the tail and ears."

A pair of small, cat-like ears had stuck themselves out of the top of his head, and a visible tail swayed behind him (a long tail, probably three fourths as long as he was tall), while his human ears appeared to vanish into thin air.

Roxanne couldn't help herself, she stared at him. After a few moments, she shook off her surprise, and said in a choked voice, "Are you a… you said…"

Slowly, the teen nodded, his purple eyes distant. He said softly, "I am. Mew's my mother, in a way. Afraid yet?"

Roxanne shook her head, and slowly looked him over intently. Now that she knew, the signs were easier to tell – the eyes were the biggest hint, but the feeling of very fine fur should have told her that he was something out of the ordinary. "No… I'm just shocked. I mean… you hear occasionally about the rare hybrid, but none of them are legendary… I didn't think they were possible…"

Al sighed, and looked downward. "It is quite possible, Roxanne. Team Rocket tried to make them, but they all ended in horrible failures, with their only success being a pokemon with some human DNA. Mewtwo, though I doubt you've heard of him." He added quietly, "Poor 'big-brother', having to deal with her all the time…"

Roxanne blinked at the odd name. "Two?"

Al seemed taken aback, then said in a rush, "Mom's clone… sorry, Mew's clone. She insists on me calling her mother, it's sort of habit now. From what I understand, the Rockets obtained a bit of her genetic material, but it wasn't enough, so they spliced human into it, and got the result – Mewtwo. Far more combat-oriented then mom is, though she gets abilities that he can't use in return."

Roxanne nodded absently slowly assimilating the information. Eventually, she said, "Then… how are you…"

Al smiled weakly, and looked at her. "I had a few words with Mew. From what she tells me, humans are descended from pokemon. But due to an instability in the rare child's DNA, if they come in contact with a specific pokemon, then they become a hybrid of that pokemon. What pokemon it is varies… in my case, it was Mew. She told me that I had to become this, but mom's annoyingly into not telling me why. She just changed me, and left me in the wild to flounder about until I managed to find my way to the sacred spot. And now…" His face turned dark, frustrated, as he trailed off.

Roxanne's motherly instincts (for all she wasn't a mother, teaching young students taught her plenty) shouted to her that the teenaged hybrid was depressed, and more than anything, needed some comfort. His 'mother' had left him to a harsh existence, and never had explained herself. Without a word, she hugged him tightly, and whispered softly, "You can rest here as long as you need. I… you need someone to talk to, and I would be glad to help…"

Al somehow said to her in a voice she heard, but didn't hear, "Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. It's been lonely, even if my pokemon are my best friends… they're still not human, and even Gardevoir can't understand some things, for all of her love."

Roxanne nodded, and loosened her grip, then slowly led him to the private area of her gym, showing him to the 'guest of honor' room that she had to have ready, just in case an Elite trainer stopped by, and needed lodgings.

Al seemed to be taken aback by the room she showed him to, but she was insistent enough that he nodded weakly, and collapsed on the bed, not even bothering to undress before he passed out.

With a small smile (she remembered doing the same, and driving her parents crazy), Roxanne shut the door, and locked it so that if anyone wandered around, at least the poor teenager could sleep undisturbed by rude visitors.

Besides, the pager she kept on her person had gone off, which meant some pokemon trainer wanted a battle. With a smile on her face, she walked out to meet her challenger. After all, things had changed, and she was considered to be quite a formidable gym leader now. Her challengers were less then they had been, because most preferred to skip her gym until they had gathered around six or so badges and seriously toughened up.

&&&&&

Al woke up to unfamiliar surroundings. Well, mostly so, Gardevoir had let herself out, and was sitting on the edge of the bed, scanning the room slowly.

Slowly, he started to move, and Gardevoir turned to look at him in concern. He flashed her a smile, and said quietly, "Thanks"

The embrace pokemon nodded quietly, but said, "Voir, Gardevoir…"

Al nodded, and reached up to brush a strand of green hair from her face. He held out her pokeball, and nodded, saying quietly, "I will. You coming with?"

She nodded mutely, and stood. Al stretched noisily for a few moments, before standing himself, and then concentrated. His ears folded themselves to the top of his head, and his tail wrapped itself around his waist (and he tucked it inside of his jeans, and under the loose shirt he wore deliberately), effectively hiding themselves from anyone, since his hair worked well enough to conceal them.

With a yawn, he walked over to the door, and looked at it – it was now locked, then shrugged, and opened it.

Roxanne wasn't anywhere in the gym, but his sleep had been fitful, so he could have slept an entire day (again) and not known it. Especially since it was dark out.

With another yawn, he checked his pokenav, then shrugged. It was about five or so in the morning – he hadn't slept a day, Roxanne just wasn't up yet, it was early, even for Gym Leaders.

He looked over at Gardevoir, and said, "You up for some training? I could use some practice…"

The Gardevoir smiled at him, and then raised her celery-stick arms toward him, aiming a Psychic attack, though he rolled out of the way, then surrounded himself in a bubble of blue energy.

Gardevoir kept on shifting her attacks – one moment, it would be Psychic, then Thunderbolt, then she'd try to put him to sleep with Sing, and Cal had to block each of them with his defensive bubble, or let it pop as he got out of the way.

After about thirty minutes of training, the two were tired, and gave it up, instead wandering around the gym.

Roxanne found the two sitting in the bleachers, chatting with each other and several other pokemon (namely, a Houndoom, Gengar, and Bellossom), two hours later. She coughed, causing the conversation that was a mixture of what appeared to be psychic communication, pokemon speech, and human language to stop, and the pokemon to stare at her, before Al said something quietly that made them relax slightly, and he returned all of them, save his Gardevoir, to their pokeballs. The two exchanged an unreadable look, then Al looked over at her. "Sorry about last night, I was sort of exhausted…"

Roxanne nodded. "It's all right. I was a teenager too, I remember falling over in exhaustion. Though I would like to ask a… favor from you."

Al blinked, and a suspicious look flashed across his face. The Gardevoir, acting on experience, reached over and rested one of her hands on his right arm, calming the hybrid. Softly, he said, "Name it."

Roxanne shook her head with a slight smile. "You're a pokemon trainer, and I'm teaching future pokemon trainers. Since you have such a wide variety, I thought it might be a good idea to introduce some of my students to your pokemon, and let them see how strong they are." She paused, and added curiously, "I… how many badges have you earned, just out of curiosity?"

Al smiled, and quipped, "Curiosity killed the Persian… I've completed the Kanto and Jhoto challenges. I was just starting out here with my team when this happened to me. It's been… months now? I forget, really, time doesn't flow the same in sacred spots."

Roxanne nodded firmly, looking over the trainer. "I knew you seemed familiar. You're one of the double-region champions, aren't you? Alexander…"

Al nodded grimly, a bitter look on his face, as he said with a definite dark note, "Yeah. I was."

Roxanne nodded slowly. "I won't tell my students, but it is an honor to meet you, Al."

Al smiled slightly, and then said, "Uhm…" He said something that sounded like it was canine-pokemon language, since it was a mixture of a few short barks, a snarl, and a 'woof', "was complaining about breakfast…"

Roxanne stared at him. "Er…"

Al blushed. "Oh, sorry. My Houndoom. I just tend to refer to them by their names, ever since I learned them. 'Shadowrender' is the closest translation, in our language."

Roxanne nodded, and then motioned for the hybrid to follow him, feeling oddly like a mother of an overgrown teenager. She started to get things ready when his Gardevoir imposed herself in front of her, and nodded toward the table. Smiling slightly, she sat down, while Al looked around, then looked toward his Gardevoir, the two exchanging a simultaneous nod, then two of her pans, some of her food supplies from her fridge, and utensils from her drawers took on a life of their own, floating through the air. "Hope you don't mind omelets, they're the best thing I can make for breakfast…" Roxanne nodded, saying quietly, "That's fine. Usually, I just have cereal and milk." Her comment apparently amused the two, they exchanged another one of their mysterious looks, before setting to work.

She watched in fascination as the two seemed to do nothing, while the animated objects set to making breakfast, and at a high speed.

In no time flat, there was a large omelet sitting in front of her, filled with her favorite ingredients – ham, cheese, and a bit of onions and hot sauce for flavor. The rest of his pokemon were eating in the gym, the hybrid had explained with a bit of a weak grin that 'Aero' didn't like too much attention, outside of battles, and his Lapras (Watersinger, though he had used a haunting Lapras-like song at first) was too big to squeeze into the kitchen. The Gardevoir was sitting with them, eating something that Al had whipped up for her – honestly, Roxanne didn't recognize it, but the scary-looking thing that Al was eating didn't look too appealing either, but he seemed to be enjoying it, despite the weird look of it.

Roxanne finally broke the quiet, saying quietly, "Thank you for agreeing to talk to my students. I swear, I'll keep your secret."

Al nodded. "It's no trouble. To me, I'm just repaying your kindness. Besides, I was a kid once, I wanted to see all the legendary pokemon in the world. I don't have any, but Aero and Watersinger are rare pokemon, and I think at least Watersinger will enjoy their attention…"

Roxanne nodded silently. So this 'Aero' pokemon that he possessed was a rare pokemon… from the name, it probably was a flying type, but she couldn't think of a rare flying pokemon that wasn't legendary.

Al finished before she did, and nodded slightly toward her, before standing, the plate he had been using gaining a glow, before flying to the sink, and then was scrubbed thoroughly by an animated sponge, before being set on the drying rack. Al looked over at his Gardevoir, and then walked out toward the main part of the gym, where his pokemon (most of them) were eating.

He grinned at his companions – the only constant in his life. He owed them a lot, they'd saved his life countless times. Softly, he said, "We're going to a trainer's school, the usual 'show your pokemon to schoolchildren' thing. Anyone want out?"

Aero, the Aerodactyl that he had 'kidnapped' from a research facility (though Aero had been the one who jumped into the pokeball, and aided him in fighting off the researchers who came to 'rescue' him), looked reluctant. Al couldn't blame him, the Aerodactyl was brilliant in battle, but socially, he was scarred by his time in the research facility. He had the family of Al and the rest of his team willing to accept him, but still, even now, the poor guy was slightly paranoid about them, though he had relaxed since Shadowstalker had helped him out by 'eating' some of his bad memories. Eventually, though, he nodded, with a reluctant look on his face. He said softly, "Aero… dactyl… aero…"

Al nodded grimly. "Never. Never ever. My cover's not that important, I'd rather blow that then see you even have the chance of being 'rescued' by those bastards."

The Aerodactyl eyed him, the prehistoric pokemon's gaze fierce, while Al met his gaze with a calm look. "I mean it. Mom's genetics hold true on me, I can't lie to save my life."

The Aerodactyl smirked slightly, then nodded. The other pokemon just nodded, or gave some vocal response of 'Sure'. Shadowrender's was the most amusing, because after he spoke (last), Al was reduced to chuckling, nearly falling over from the humor. "Stop doing that! You know I have a weird sense of humor like yours…"

"Doom."

Al laughed, grinned at the Houndoom (who gave him a toothy smirk in return), then produced his pokeballs. "Alright, pack-up time. Aero, you sure? Watersinger, same option is open to you, I know that a lot of people envy your kind out of greed…"

Both gave him a fierce look, and he grinned in response, then returned the five pokemon. With an amused smile plastered to his face, he walked back to the kitchen in time to see Gardevoir finish cleaning up the plates, Roxanne watching with an interested eye. The gym leader turned to him, and said, "I have to get to the school early, but you can show up later. Say… about nine? Just have your Gardevoir pass me a…" she blinked, then with a smile, corrected, "Just let me know when you arrive. And for goodness sake, be careful!"

Al chuckled. "Yes mother."

Roxanne arched an eyebrow at him, then shook her head, smiling, and walked out.

Al exchanged a grin with his Gardevoir, and the two went back to the gym. They might be doing a 'meet and greet' thing, but they might as well practice some as well. "Alright." He said two names in pure pokemon, one was seemingly draconic, and full of screeches, the other was a haunting Lapras song, then added, "you two are up!"

He released the two pokemon, the Lapras looking around, before floating on air, the Aerodactyl launching himself into the air. Watersinger shook her head slowly, then looked back at Al. "Lapras?"

Al nodded determinedly. "Yeah. We're doing accuracy and evasion. Both of you…" He looked at the Lapras, who was looking resigned, saying lightly, "you've gotten lazy."

The Aerodactyl chuckled from high in the air, and Al shot him a look. "Don't tempt me. I can generate currents myself, you know." The Aerodactyl fell silent quickly, and then Al nodded slowly to the Aerodactyl, who floated still in the air for a moment, before producing a rocky-colored aura. Watersinger looked in surprise, then floated higher into the air, the Lapras's eyes glowing as the Ancientpower attack flew at her. Just as it looked like Aero, wrapped in the aura, would hit her, she sideslipped, and dodged the speeding Aerodactyl, who abandoned the attack as he realized he'd missed. The resurrected pokemon turned in the air, then had to dive desperately to evade the Hydro Pump that Watersinger fired in retaliation.

Al watched silently, his arms crossed. The Aerodactyl seemed to realize a mistake, and disappeared just as the Hydro Pump was about to hit him.

Watersinger looked about warily, then froze, as Aero rematerialized right at her neck, his jaw posed to rip her throat out. But rather than signaling she had given up, the Aerodactyl was wrapped in a Psychic aura, and flung away. He freed himself before he rammed into a wall, but looked sideways at the two psychics standing on the ground. Gardevoir shook her head, as did Al. The Aerodactyl muttered something to himself, then started to charge again, before disappearing as an Ice Beam hit the space he had just occupied moments before.

Al's eyes followed something as it moved about, then he called, "That's good, Aero. Drop the Agility. Watersinger's learned a new trick, and you're getting better at throwing off psychic attacks."

The Lapras shot him a look, then smiled, singing something haunting-sounding. Al nodded, and she shot off a bolt of lightning in the opposite direction of the Aerodactyl. Aero looked in shock at the bolt of lightning, then shuddered in the air. He set down on the ground, then shook his head slowly. "Aero… dactyle, aero."

Al and Gardevoir exchanged a look, then the Mew-hybrid walked over to the fearsome pokemon, and softly rubbed his neck. "Don't worry about it." He sang Watersinger's proper name, then added with a grin, "has practice being sneaky, it's how she got away with being lazy on the dodge."

The Aerodactyl smiled weakly. "Aero. Dactyl, Aero."

Watersinger sang softly, then gave the Aerodactyl a proud smile. Al caught it, and shook his head wordlessly. Aero was the 'youngest' member of their team, both literally and figuratively. Al had strengthened him up with one of the things Mew had taught him (namely, giving him the equivalent of weeks of heavy training while he slept for three days), as well as teaching him attacks, but the Aerodactyl still was learning to perfect his combat skills. "Good job, though. You remembered Agility before she got you, so you got away. If you had managed to use Wing Attack to nail her when you missed, that could have thrown her off though."

The Aerodactyl nodded firmly, then screeched a question. Al chuckled, checked his pokenav, then shrugged. "Sure, why not? School should be in session. And if you want, you can always just stay in the air, and show off by demonstrating moves like Ancientpower."

Aero blinked, then slowly smiled. Al held up two pokeballs, and returned both Aero, and Watersinger. With a slight frown of concentration, his tail wrapped itself around his waist, while his ears folded down onto his head. With a hand, he brushed his hair over it, so that the ears were covered. He looked over at Gardevoir, and she extended one thin arm, holding on to him as they both teleported away.

&&&&&

Roxanne looked in surprise at the sight that was in front of her. Al had appeared silently, as had his Gardevoir, behind all her students. She doubted that any of them knew they were there, and the hybrid looked as he did before he had unveiled what she presumed to be his true appearance – he looked human. The two had been in physical contact when they teleported, though now they were standing beside each other, the two looking at her.

Roxanne smiled slightly, and continued on with her lecture. After about a minute's worth of time, she said, "And since I am apparently boring you… Miss Green, could you wake Mr. Douglass?… Thank you… anyway, the trainer that I mentioned has arrived. He tells me that two of his pokemon are pokemon rarely seen, so do be kind…"

Al added dryly from the back, "And no flash photography. Aero doesn't like 'em, and neither do I."

His comment earned shocked inhalations, as the entire student body whirled around to look at the trainer, who was standing there with a grin on his face. "Sheesh. Don't teach 'em how to pay attention anymore, do they?"

Roxanne arched an eyebrow at him, and he blinked, before saying, "Whoops, sorry about that. Habit."

The student body, which had children from age six to teenagers, proceeded to burst into muttering – Al had appeared in an impossible place with no sign of arrival. The doorway into the lecture hall was in the front of the room, not the back, and yet he was standing there, and none of them were the wiser. Even Teleport, as they knew, generated a small flash of light.

Roxanne gestured to the door, and Al nodded, before taking Gardevoir's arm again, the two disappearing without a sign they were there, reappearing beside the door, and walking through it.

Roxanne smiled, as the entire class poured out, headed to the field where they practiced battling. Trainers were generally kind enough to show their pokemon, but most tended to have similar teams, since they had 'customized' them to face her rock types. It was unlikely Al had the same idea, since it seemed like he had one set team, and instead of relying on type to carry his battles, he used something else.

She followed the last student out, and then walked over to Al, who was standing in the middle of the field, surrounded by four pokemon, including his Gardevoir. She stepped beside him, and said softly, "Whenever you are ready, you can release your whole team."

Al nodded, and brought up two pokeballs, tossing them. First popped out a Lapras, which earned a gasp from most of the students – only those who were fourteen or older had seen another Lapras.

But Roxanne didn't see the Lapras, she was staring at the other pokemon – one she… used to believe died out long ago. The Aerodactyl seemed to be a bit embarrassed by the attention, and took wing, easily floating into the sky.

Al said in a carrying voice, "That would be… Aero. He's a bit shy, so don't take it personally if he shies away from physical contact. Bad history." His Lapras apparently agreed, as it lifted off, and floated over to the students, picking up one of the younger ones in her mouth, and putting him on her back with a deft flick, then floating into the sky.

Roxanne managed to drag her eyes away from the Aerodactyl who was circling the field, and looked at his other pokemon. The Houndoom, Gardevoir, and Bellossom were there, but a Gengar was there as well. It was juggling what looked like lit explosives, and laughing manically as it did so.

Al, beside his Gardevoir, was a small island of peace, while the other students examined his pokemon. Shadowstalker, the Gengar, was getting the most attention with his antics, though Watersinger also got plenty of curious students just touching the shell on her back, even as she gave other students rides. Aero was constantly gazed at, but since it was obvious he wasn't totally comfortable with what was going on, only a few students cried for him to come down so they could see him better.

With a sudden grin on his face, Al leaned on his Gardevoir, and whispered in her ear. After a few moments, she acquired a wicked grin, and nodded. With a wink, he looked around, then disappeared without a sign.

He reappeared on Aero's back, his ears and tail flying, called to the Aerodactyl, "Come on! You're getting boring, just circling! Show off a bit! Even Shadowrender's getting in the spirit, and he's an old stick in the mud!"

Aero turned his head slightly, and gave the hybrid a suspicious look, and growled a question. Al, caught, nodded. The Aerodactyl growled another comment, and Al's eyes widened, as he concentrated again, making his tail and ears hide themselves again.

The Aerodactyl dived, buzzing students. Some exclaimed in surprise to see a human riding on his back easily, as the two trailed behind them glittering bubbles, that when they popped, left behind sparkles that refused to die for nearly half a minute. The Aerodactyl then switched from buzzing the students to flying at a mid level, then launched a fiery Dragonbreath attack outward, toward some imaginary target. The Dragonbreath, in mid-air, shifted, and became a swooping Salamence that gave a realistic cry (provided by Al, in actuality), and then launched a Hyper Beam straight up, before fading away. It was a trick that the three had come up with – Gardevoir manipulated the Dragonbreath with her psychic abilities, Al created a little 'portal' for the Hyper Beam that Aero made, and ensured that the Dragonbreath Salamence didn't fade when Aero stopped breathing Dragonbreath.

The hybrid / pokemon pair swooped down, and Aero set down on the ground gently beside Gardevoir, then looked around, before giving the impression of a bow. Al jumped off him, stretched, and then waved. He turned to Aero, and looked at the Aerodactyl carefully, before walking back to Gardevoir. He was intercepted by Roxanne, who started to ask him rapid-fire questions. Aero was surrounded by older students, who were carefully looking at him from a distance, and one braver young student, who was looking curiously up at him from about six inches away. He closed his mouth, and then nudged the young human, who looked delighted by the fact, and stroked the area around his nose.

Al looked on, as did Roxanne, and he said softly, "He'll be fine for awhile. When he starts to get nervous, he'll let me know. If he really gets in bad shape, everyone will know."

Roxanne nodded slowly, then asked, "Were you here for a gym battle?"

Al nodded. "Yeah. I figure if I get triple championship, it'll be a pain in the ass for them to try and strip me of my titles when you-know-what is revealed."

Roxanne looked pained, but nodded. After a moment, she squashed the pained look, and smiled as she saw several of her students waving from the Lapras's back, hovering in the air.

&&&&&

Roxanne smiled, opposite her opponent, Al. Several of her older students had elected to watch this match, so she didn't intend to hold back at all. In a carrying voice, she said, "This will be a three on three match, with no time limit. The gym leader is not permitted to switch pokemon, though the challenger is free to do so, if he desires." She looked at him, though she doubted he'd have any questions. He just nodded grimly, and she called out, "Then we shall begin!"

She started out by releasing her Lairon, which was sometimes called the 'iron-tank' pokemon by her students.

Al studied it for a moment, then threw out a pokeball, releasing, to her surprise, his Aerodactyl. Roxanne studied it, and arched an eyebrow, before calling, "Lairon, let's start out with Iron Defense!"

The Lairon took on a metallic sheen, as it's iron body hardened even more. "Aero, counter that with Supersonic!"

The Aerodactyl produced a horrible screeching noise that made Roxanne cover her ears. Her Lairon didn't have that benefit, it was roaring, then flung itself at a nearby boulder, trying to cut off the sound. Supposedly, Supersonic was supposed to be un-hearable by humans, but some pokemon had the ability to shift the sound wavelength so that it affected both human and pokemon.

Al, apparently immune, called out, "Earthquake, then follow it up you-know-what!"

Roxanne shouted over the screech, "Lairon, use Rock Tomb to restrain it!"

Boulders rose from the ground, seeking the Aerodactyl. It dove, and impacted the ground for a moment, then sprung into the air, disappearing.

Roxanne called out, "Protect", and her Lairon defended itself, blocking out the attack from hitting it.

Al's Aerodactyl reappeared just as the protect faded, and blasted a Fire Blast point-blank at Lairon, making the iron-armor pokemon shudder, and weakly rise again. Taking a risk, Roxanne called out, "Shock Wave!"

Lairon started to glow, as it gathered the energy needed to use the attack. It fired, but the attack hit empty air, as his Aerodactyl disappeared again.

She didn't see the seismic waves until it was too late, and the Earthquake attack tossed her Lairon into the air, and then crashing back into the ground.

She returned it, knowing her Lairon couldn't take anymore. She looked over at the trainer, and said, "That was impressive. It's the first time my Lairon lost to another rock type like that."

Al smiled, and gestured. Roxanne shook her head, and released her Golem. "But I won't loose this round!"

The Aerodactyl didn't even wait for a command, it disappeared. Roxanne quietly sighed – the lack of speed for most Rock pokemon was a glaring weakness. Al's Aerodactyl seemed to be faster than a Jolteon, so it would be difficult for her to target it. "Golem, defense curl."

The Aerodactyl reappeared again, and shot out a bust of Dragonbreath on her Golem, which, as per its training, started a Rollout attack. The dragon-flames curled about the boulder, as it jumped in the air, aimed at the Aerodactyl. Roxanne smiled slightly – it couldn't get out of the way in time.

"Aero… Steel Wing, now."

The Aerodactyl's wings glowed silver, as it flew forward, and hit Roxanne's spinning Golem. The two fought in the air, the spinning boulder slowing, then it crashed down to the ground, the Aerodactyl panting as it fired a finishing Dragonbreath.

Both trainers returned their pokemon, and Roxanne called out her final pokemon. "Nosepass, you're up!"

Al smiled, and released Watersinger, who instantly floated up in the air, looking at her opponent.

Roxanne internally smiled. Her Nosepass actually was well trained to fight water types, so it would be an interesting match. She called out, "Zap Cannon!"

"Watersinger, Protect, then use a Mist to make a screen! You know what to do next!"

The Zap Cannon impacted the Protect, and failed to penetrate, then the Lapras made a massive mist-storm that was impossible to see through. Roxanne called, "Nosepass, use your Thunder Wave!"

She could see the electric wave flying through the air, but there was no response, so it must have missed. The mist seemed to change, and then it faded away, though instead it was now raining inside the gym.

Roxanne looked in shock, at her Nosepass, which was completely passed out, and showed no signs of waking up. "What… what happened?"

Al said simply, "Rain Dance and a Hydro Pump."

Roxanne returned her Nosepass, taken back by how quickly it had fallen. She reached into her pocket, and produced a Stone Badge. "You've certainly earned this, Al. Nosepass has managed to fight off a Swampert before, yet you defeated it with one attack."

Al walked over to her, and took the badge, nodding in thanks. "Thank you, Roxanne. It's a well trained pokemon, but it couldn't see in the mist. And Watersinger…" he looked fondly over at the Lapras, then continued, "has practiced a lot for using that combo. Her species lives in mist-shrouded areas, they've adapted to being able to see through mist that most species cannot."

Roxanne nodded – that was standard knowledge, but the few trainers who did have a Lapras rarely seemed to realize the potential of that ability. Though to be honest, most trainers preferred to train Swampert or other land-based water types, who didn't need to rely on there being a convenient body of water nearby to be able to fight effectively. His was the first Lapras she had seen who utilized its psychic powers like that. But then again, he had all the reasons in the world to have developed such a combination – he'd seen two championships. "I would imagine you utilize obscure facts like that all the time to come up with strategies, don't you?"

Al snickered, then nodded. "Yeah. But in all seriousness, I'd best get going before you-know-what gets around." He returned his Lapras, releasing his Gardevoir as he did so, then disappeared with the embrace pokemon.

About thirty seconds later, a police SWAT unit stormed the gym, shouting, "FREEZE! We have reports of a hybrid residing here! Nobody move!"

A voice cut off the shouter, saying in a very… disappointed… tone, "Too late. You cannot take me by surprise."

Roxanne looked about wildly, then looked up. Al was floating on the air, his Gardevoir nowhere in sight, his tail waving freely. The hybrid looked at her sadly, and Roxanne narrowed her eyes. She willingly opened up her mind, knowing he could read it… and his eyes grew tired, as he nodded. She hadn't contacted the police, someone else had.

The police noticed Roxanne's skyward gaze, and opened fire with special weapons. But all of the rounds bounced off the bubble, as the hybrid floated there, apparently contemplating something.

Roxanne looked at the older students, and frowned. One of them had a… smug expression on her face. True, she always tried to look superior to others, but… she sighed, knowing it was her, even if she didn't know how. She breathed softly, "Amanda… why did you do that…"

Al continued to float there, then slowly looked at the girl as well. A soundless voice echoed, "Betrayer of the light, I curse you with my memories of horrors like you intended to be unleashed upon me."

The girl named Amanda looked ahead blankly, then collapsed, screaming in horror. The Mew hybrid disappeared. The girl, however, kept shaking. After about ten seconds, she looked up, her eyes wide. Roxanne was taken aback by the terrified look on her face.

A silent voice said softly (she could hear it), "I cursed her with the memories from the… girl who I mentioned to you in passing. Maybe she'll learn that just because we are different, does not make us monsters… it is the heart that does that." The voice went silent for a moment, then added softly, "Take care, Roxanne. Thanks for your kindness… if I ever can repay the favor, I will."

&&&&&

In the distance, Al watched from the top of the Devon building as police units slowly abandoned the gym from a seated position. He'd seen the reaction of the girl – apparently, they'd tried to take her to a hospital, but she'd fought them off, and just walked away. Even now, he could feel the immense guilt echoing within her.

He sadly smiled, and looked up at Gardevoir. "Well, we've recruited someone else, and found someone willing to shelter others if things are desperate." Very carefully, he stood up, and looked at her. "Well, that goal, and my own, are done for now…"

The Gardevoir, acting on previous knowledge, caught the hybrid in a tight embrace. Just as she had expected, he broke down and started weeping brokenly into her shoulder. It wasn't the first time Mew had driven her 'child' into exhaustion, and it wouldn't be the last time she did it, either. Supposedly, Mewtwo was nearing the end of his rope with her as well, but the two hadn't talked to Al's 'big brother' in two weeks, so they had no way to confirm if Mewtwo was going to go off on his own again or not.

The embrace pokemon gained a fierce expression, as one of her eyes looked sadly at the teenager, exhausted and wanting a rest that he realistically could not find anywhere. In the wilds, they had to kill a few pokemon to have them leave them alone, or he was begged by pokemon after pokemon to help with something or another – pokemon knew just by scent that he was Mew's child… and partially human. Either they had to stay alert for sneak attacks, or someone, distraught by the fact that Al couldn't help, their attempt on his life. The only places that were safe were places with no humans or pokemon (which realistically didn't exist), or the Sacred areas. But if Al went there, Mew would show up soon enough, and either work him to exhaustion, or drive him out on another 'mission'.

She knew he needed a break soon, or despite her best efforts, he would break and shatter. While that was dangerous enough for humans (usually, they ended their lives in some way when they shattered, or simply faded away, and no medical science in the world could save them), for someone like him, the potential existed to wipe out a large area of land as he attempted to destroy himself. She doubted that some of the pokemon deserved to be saved from such a fate… but the teenager did not deserve death. He deserved to be at peace, after working so hard for his Championship titles, that would probably be stripped away from him as soon as the pokemon League matched him with the 'missing champion Alexander'.

His choking sobs slowly faded, but Gardevoir did not let go of him, softly kissing the side of his cheek. She telepathically sent him soothing sounds her mouth could not produce, and he became quiet, then hugged her back weakly, saying softly, "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up…" Rather than using her species name, he telepathically said the name she had, one that could not be spoken aloud, it was as much mental emotion and mental 'bursts of light' as it was words. Psychic pokemon names were a definition of what they were, and they changed as the pokemon changed.

She slowly nodded, and brushed aside a strand of hair from his forehead, sending back wordless feelings. He smiled sadly, and kissed her cheek in response. "Thanks for saving me again."

She gave him a return smile that was just as sad and tired, and nodded. The two looked back at the gym, then disappeared together, without a flash or anything. Mew had nearly killed him to produce that result, but he had finally learned how to teleport without a sign.

They reappeared outside of Rustburo. Al motioned toward east, and said softly, "Come on. We're going to Lavaridge."

Gardevoir asked curiously, "Garde?"

Al smiled slightly. "It's a tiny town. They don't even have a police force, the Gym Leader deals with most disputes. I say we're on vacation, and going to use the hot springs and hot sands there to relax… all of us."

Gardevoir slowly nodded, and asked him another question. Al smiled in response, and shrugged. "If he wants. He's close to snapping as well… I'll call him when we're close to there. He's more powerful then I am, so if he wanted to book a private bath and create a 'I'm not bothering whoever is in there' aura, he could. It might do him some good… last time I went to a hot spring, it helped me out a lot."

Gardevoir nodded silently, then smiled. Al caught the look, and shook his head, grinning as well. That had been a nightmare that the staff still probably spoke about, though it did help him relax… he hadn't come out of the coma for a month. Mew had been pissed as hell about it, though 'big brother' Mewtwo joked that he ought to try that sometime, since Al had looked completely refreshed when he came out of it.

The two of them had never seen Mew so irritated. The fact that it had been one of the few times Mewtwo's sense of humor (which rarely showed itself) flared hadn't helped. Al had been trying to instill in the genetic pokemon some sense of humor, but the only talent for humor Mewtwo showed was for cynical humor. Though neither Al nor Gardevoir blamed him, they'd probably be the same way if they had been treated as a weapon by every side they attempted to help, with no respect for their feelings whatsoever.

Al said quietly, "We're signaling him, and if he doesn't show, I'll suggest he take the coma approach before he does snap. That helped… even though it hurt you, it helped me keep my sanity."

Gardevoir looked at him sadly, then nodded slightly, before looking away. "Voir…" The two exchanged a look, Gardevoir slowly perking up, then hugged him tightly before disappearing back inside her ball. After all, she couldn't fly.

Al's tail and ears became evident again, as he looked upwards. A sphere of energy formed itself around him, as he floated up in the air, then blasted forward at high speed, a blur that would make the two Eon pokemon envious. Which was the general idea, since his moving at a visible-to-the-eye speed would result in a great deal of trouble for him.

&&&&&

He set down just out of sight from the village, and slowly looked himself over as he dissolved the psychic sphere.

Each time he utilized his powers, his body 'degraded' more and more. Teleporting and minor uses of his powers did not do that much, it just slightly changed the fur on his skin. From what Mewtwo had told him, his fur was supposed to be something of a sapphire color, but his human genetics was resisting the change, so his fur was skin-colored (somewhat tanned-looking), excepting his hair, which was pale white. But every time he did an extended flight like that…

He sighed, as he spotted the change. His hands had shifted, the nails he had disappearing. His hands were also more like Mewtwo's, thinner and less human-seeming, though there was an odd grace to them. For the longest time, even as Mew had pushed him to his limits, the only things that developed was the fur that covered his body, his ears becoming like Mewtwo's, and his tail (which was also like his 'big brother's' tail). But it seemed like his human side was weakening with every time it had to fight the change. Sooner or later, he would finally 'evolve' (as his 'mother' optimistically put it) into his final form, which theoretically would resemble Mewtwo. 'Big brother Mewtwo' doubted that, but he had only spoken to Al in private about that, since neither of them was too happy with their 'mother'.

The hybrid shoved his hands into his pockets with a sniff, then walked toward the town, purposefully imitating what he used to do when he was human, and a normal trainer. He needed to be able to pull off that persona to be able to disappear for awhile, Mewtwo had taught him a trick for masking his psychic aura from Mew. Eventually she would find him, scold him, and send him on another task, but if he blended in more, she took longer to find him.

Getting into town was not a problem for him, he managed well enough. Several people looked curiously at the fact that Gardevoir was floating beside him (she technically didn't walk on the ground), but that was the idea – if she got attention, the trainer himself did not get as much.

He looked about, then headed to the first small (actually, it was tiny compared to some) hotel / spa he spotted. Walking inside, he arched an eyebrow at the fact that the place, besides a bored-looking older woman, was empty. She perked up as he looked at her, and immediately started to shuffle with something at the desk.

Al took his time, then walked up to the desk. Thanks to his championship title, he had access to a lot of funds – his account had not been frozen, since he had 'reported in' a few times, to let the league know he was alive. They weren't exactly happy with the fact that he'd disappeared for months without a word, but at least they hadn't declared him dead… "Excuse me, but do you offer wholesale… erm… damnit, what's the word…"

The woman looked confused, then asked, "Er… sir, are you asking if you can get a room?"

"No, I mean the whole place for a week. With a special condition…"

The woman blinked, then slowly nodded. "We can do that, but if you are asking for all staff to leave this building alone, we cannot. Maintenance and the like."

Al shrugged. "That, I have no problem with. But I have a… friend who likes his privacy a great deal." He paused to think of a good reason for it, then added quietly, "Scarred from a car accident, poor guy. He's terrified of being seen by many people, since his face is ruined…"

The woman slowly nodded, apparently sold on what he was claiming. "Oh… well, we can arrange a schedule so your friend is not seen by the staff at all." She shook her head, smiling. "It won't be that hard, I'm the owner here, and my kids are the 'staff', along with someone to make sure our machinery doesn't break down. It's a small operation, but we will need access to rooms…"

Al nodded. "I understand that. But perhaps it would be best if this could be done in the morning… say before ten? And… well, I don't want him to panic… he's here to relax, I'm the one dragging him to this…"  
The woman got the hint, and nodded again. "I'll speak to them. But this will be costly…"

Al shrugged, and reached into his pocket, producing a bank card. He handed it over to her, and she scanned it into her computer, before flipping it over, apparently waiting for the system to process her request. She skimmed it, then froze, and looked up at Al. "Er…" Al, long used to the reaction some people had (Roxanne's had been refreshing – she had just said it was nice to meet him, nothing else out of the ordinary), merely smiled, and said softly, "Please, relax. Breathe, I'm not running off anywhere."

She slowly nodded, and took several breaths, before saying, "Why are you here… sir? I mean, with your fame, you could get a free reservation in any of the big places…"

Al smiled softly, and looked over at Gardevoir, who was failing to hide a massive smile. She always got a kick out of his fame, and how people reacted. "Madam, I'm here to help a friend. As much as a big chain would like it, I doubt a large staff could keep it quiet that a pokemon master was staying there, even if he wanted anonymity. Photographers would show up, and then…" He shuddered visibly.

The woman nodded, looking down at the screen. She muttered, "TV makes you look far different then you are… smart lad, changing your look that much…" Al chuckled, amused by her compliment. After all, those that had recognized him had on occasion been so shocked, they denied it was him, even when the truth was staring them in the face. So to speak, anyway.

The woman finally must have gotten her processing done, and produced a few forms. "We do have to have you sign some forms, legal security and the like, just in case there is damages to our facility beyond wear and tear. When do you intend to start?"

Al blinked, looking over the relatively small sheet of forms, then said softly, "Make it eight days, with today being just me. My friend will be arriving tomorrow, so could the system be in place by then? He'll be arriving by teleport…"

The woman nodded, then gestured to the forms. Al looked them over with a careful eye, then slowly filled out the relevant information. He looked up at one part, and said simply, "I trust that this will be kept quiet until I have left?"

The woman nodded decisively. "Yes sir. We take the privacy of our guests very seriously." Al smiled in response, then finished filling out the forms, handing them back to the owner / operator. She skimmed over the filled out forms, then nodded. With a smile, she said, "It's just as well you came, we were in a major dry spell. Hot spring season is wintertime, and it's the middle of spring… we don't have anyone staying with us, so you will be our only guest."

Al nodded, smiling, and said, "Well then, I'll just go enjoy myself… pokemon have their own location, or…"

The woman shook her head. "No, it's human and pokemon in the same equipment. If they have hair, please at least brush them so they don't shed…"

Al nodded. "Not a problem. I'll take care of it." The woman produced several keys, and Al took them with a quick smile, and then walked further into the building. He looked at one of the keys, then looked through the three she had given him for his room number, then spotted it. It was number 18… he looked around, then followed several signs until he found his room, and unlocked the door, stepping quietly inside, Gardevoir silently moving in after him.

The room was no palace room, but it was rather well furnished. It had a bed large enough for two, several chairs, a TV in an alcove, and a small table with the standard inn-notes on it. There was a bathroom attached to the room as well, but it was composed only of a toilet, sink, and a shower. Logical, considering a shower/bath would take up more space.

Al stopped exploring, and instead walked over to the bed, sitting down on it, then crossing his legs, his eyes slowly shutting. Gardevoir sat down carefully on a chair, and watching him, her eyes watching his aura, while her mind trailed after his.

Al, to his mind, was surrounded by mist. He could feel Gardevoir following after him, making the hybrid chuckle quietly to himself – she always did that, whenever he left in a meditation.

He brushed aside the stray thoughts, and instead called out for his 'big brother'. There was not much of a response for a short while, then Mewtwo's form phased into the mist-shrouded area. He looked about curiously, then his gaze set on Al. He said in a remarkably dry voice, "You are taking a risk, doing this. Mew will not exactly be pleased with you…"

Al shrugged obviously, saying in response, "She can go bugger off… anyway, I've booked a little vacation for you."

Mewtwo arched a non-existent eyebrow, then slowly asked, "And I am supposed to manage this feat how, assuming you've somehow persuaded the humans to not notice that I am a pokemon none have seen before, besides a few humans… well, I erased their memories…"

Al chuckled. "Focus, big brother. I booked a spring resort, and you're a horribly scarred friend who's terrified of being spotted by other people. It'll work, we're both psychics. If any staff enter the room, you can teleport to somewhere else, and Gardevoir or Shadowrender could be on guard if we truly want to relax. He won't mind for sure, he's not exactly a water-loving type…"

Mewtwo blinked, and then stared at his 'younger brother'. Very slowly, he said, "Have you read them to be sure of that?"

Al nodded slowly, as did the shadowy Gardevoir behind him. Mewtwo looked between the two, then brought one hand to his head, rubbing it slowly. "You two have been together far too long… but this sounds… I could use a vacation, actually. I'll give 'mom'" he gained a cynical look at the utterance of that word, before slowly continuing, "a story about how you are at a breakdown point again, and I, being a concerned brother, will make sure you come out relaxed…"

Al chuckled. "Go ahead. Mom's always believed that humanity is frail… besides, does it really matter if you're relaxing as well?"

Mewtwo chuckled, and disappeared into mist. Al faded away as well, the shadowy Gardevoir fading away last.

Al came out of his trance, then looked with a grin at Gardevoir. "Feel like hitting the hot spring?"

Gardevoir's answer was clear enough, as she 'walked' out the door. Al chuckled, and followed her.

They went immediately to the hot spring part of the facility, Gardevoir still 'dressed' (she really could not remove the outfit if she wanted to), and Al only had a towel on, which he tossed aside as he waded into the hot water, then sighed in relief as the heat soaked into his muscles. His tail floated out on it's own, the hybrid too relaxed to bother bringing it back into hiding, especially since Gardevoir had said she would look out for other.

The last pokemon that could be safely released, Sunheart (Al's Bellossom), sat by the side of the pool of water.

Al called out to her, "Heat bothering you?"

Sunheart shook her head slowly. "Bella, bella…" The smile on the pokemon's face was brighter than usual, it was obvious she thought that his vacation was overdue.

Al and his pokemon spent the rest of the day relaxing. Even Aero, a rock pokemon, enjoyed basking in the heat from a sauna.

&&&&&

It was a day later, and Al was out eating breakfast. With his changed look, he did not have a hard time disguising himself, even the lines on his face had changed slightly from his past 'famous Alexander' look. He'd been rather famed for being stubborn, and keeping his hair wild, and long enough that most people suspected he used gel for it to stand up, though actually he didn't. Just running his hands through his hair had caused that effect…

He sighed. Gardevoir, being as perceptive as she was, uttered softly, "Voir, garde... voir Gardevoir."

Al nodded. "Yeah. Gotta point there."

The two were sitting in a mostly deserted breakfast place that catered to trainers. Some of the Lavaridge residents were eating inside, but all of them had at least one pokemon out and with them. It was the house rules, in a way – you could only get in if you brought a pokemon. Families could bring the family pokemon, but there was a rule about pokemon with flame-tails not being permitted, nor Snorlax (or their pre-evolved form), unless the owner wanted to pay for the massive bill that such a pokemon would rack up.

Gardevoir nibbled on her pancake, then slowly shook her head, saying, "Garde."

Al nodded slowly, looking at the decimated remains of their meal. The two of them had pigged out, in a way. Though to be fair, Al's being part Mew increased his metabolism to an insane degree, so it was nearly impossible for the hybrid to become fat. He would just burn off the excess calories. With a shrug, he stood, palming the bill, and walked up the resister. And Gardevoir usually did not eat that much, so she could occasionally eat like that and get away with it, since she often trained with Al, and burned off excess energy dueling the hybrid.

After paying the bill (with cash, Al had learned by now that using a debt card or something with his name on it tended to be an invitation to Trouble), the two walked back to the inn. Mewtwo was going to arrive sometime in the next hour, and Sunheart had come up with a little 'welcome surprise' for him.

&&&&&

Al felt a searching presence that wasn't 'Mew flavored', but instead was more reminiscent of Mewtwo. In other words, it was a slightly world-weary presence, and if it had a color, it would be a dark blue, while Mew's always reeked of pink. He briefly signaled the searcher with a mental beacon, then the presence faded away.

About five feet from the hybrid, Mewtwo solidified from empty air, his teleport soundlessly displacing air. The genetic pokemon looked around, his violet eyes skipping over Al and his Gardevoir, before relaxing when he realized no human had observed him. Though to be truthful, Al's demonstration of his hybrid traits (including the swaying tail sticking out behind him) should have put him at ease, though Mewtwo had long since learned paranoia.

The genetic pokemon smiled at his 'brother', and said dryly, _Well, I am here. We have about a week before Mew attempts anything to disturb us._

Al gestured toward the pool of steaming water. "Like I said, hot springs. If you need anything, we'll take care of it. I know dealing with her can drive anyone nuts, so you're taking it easy. I'll just sneak away just before Mew shows up."

Mewtwo shook his head, laughing telepathically. _You've gotten better than I am at evading her, little brother._

Al laughed, and then got into the hot water with a sigh. "Just get in. Trust me, it'll relax you. Besides, I can disguise myself as human. You can't exactly do the same without a cloak... and despite how well you can act, eventually Murphy's law catches up with you."

Mewtwo nodded slightly, then sank into the water, looking surprised at he took a breath of the air. _Did your Bellossom do something to the water? It seems to have a relaxing agent in it._

Al nodded slightly. "Yeah, she did. Now quit worrying, alright?"

Mewtwo shot a dark look at Al, then relaxed his body so that the only thing above the water was his head. Smiling, Al shut his eyes, letting the heat relax his muscles while Gardevoir took her turn at sentry duty… he'd switch with her later.

The heat was getting to him slightly, but his body did have some advantages, it could endure conditions that no normal human could survive very long in. A hot soak did nothing besides relax his muscles, and make the hybrid want to fall asleep.

Mewtwo almost laughed as Al slumped slightly, apparently asleep. He looked up at the Gardevoir, who seemed to be laughing quietly, and asked, _Does he always fall asleep in hot springs? The one time Mew let us use one, he fell straight asleep after about fifteen minutes._

Gardevoir paused, then replied quietly, "Voir, gardevoir garde voir."

Mewtwo blinked, then looked back at the hybrid, a softened look in his normally hardened eyes. _Oh. Mew. I forgot about her. She's been running him as ragged as she has me, hasn't she?_

Gardevoir nodded, then closed her eyes again, to help increase her psychic awareness, which could be weakened by other senses.

Al slept on, his body not moving an inch in the hot water, Mewtwo keeping a lazy eye on him as the genetic pokemon took the first break in a long time.

He blinked, as he noticed that oddly, from within the building, there was no sign of human minds. There were a few pokemon (who were probably the security), but there was an interesting lack of human life in what obviously was an inn.

He nudged Al with his tail, and the hybrid snapped awake. Mewtwo noted that his eyes, while they'd changed colors, had not become like his own, slitted like a Persian's would be.

As soon as the hybrid showed signs of being fully conscious and aware, he asked, _Just what did you do to the humans who were undoubtedly here?_

Al laughed quietly, then said, "I'm a pokemon master, remember?" Mewtwo frowned at the implied title, that as a 'pokemon master' the holder had mastered pokemon, which was far from the truth, most times. Some had won due to sheer dumb luck. But Al continued, "With the title comes a bank account in the millions, and my battling other trainers keeps the funds up. I paid them to rent out the whole place. Between my fame, and the money, the owner was perfectly willing to have the staff be cut down to a minimum amount of time here. They'll pop in at about eight each day, do maintenance, and leave. I figure we can leave for breakfast during that time, so no one here will have a clue what you even look like."

Mewtwo nodded slightly, and asked, _You're still after a triple championship? What is the point?_

Al smiled slightly. "A triple champion is something akin to a living legend. If I use it right, I might be able to change a few things…"

Mewtwo nodded, thinking. His 'younger brother' did have a point, the few humans he'd mind-read indicated that the holder of the three great region's championship titles was akin to a god, since only three had managed the feat. In the last… what was it, two hundred years? He really didn't know, or particularly care about human history, unless it would somehow involve either him, or his 'mother'. And the second because it would invariably lead to him getting 'dispatched' to deal with some sort of problem.

Al, for all his twisted logic sometimes, was right. He had needed a vacation.

&&&&&

Al laughed behind carefully erected mental walls at the expression on Mewtwo's face. Sunheart was releasing a Sweet Scent, while he massaged out the kinks in Mewtwo's muscles.

And there were a lot of them. From Al's estimation, Mewtwo hadn't relaxed for ages, and unless he missed his guess, he didn't relax during sleep either.

The hybrid shook his head, and said softly, "That's all I'm going to do for now. You're a wreck, bro."

Mewtwo started to scowl, then abruptly nodded. _I suppose, I haven't thought much about my physical state for a long while._

Gardevoir sighed, while Al just shook his head, muttering profanities that would make a sailor proud. Mewtwo looked on, slightly confused, before Al explained, "There's a reason that you need to care. Mew might not have told you this, but if your body is cramped up like that, it limits your attention and lowers your psychic power… as well as makes you less likely to dodge."

Mewtwo nodded slightly, his eyes glowing a dark purple. _And I wondered why it seemed like I was tiring easier…_

Al said consolingly, "You're not all powerful, or all knowing. I only know because researchers did a lot of studies on it, though most trainers don't give a crap. Which is why they aren't very good, and I'm a champion."

Mewtwo shook his head, and commented, _I'm almost tempted to join you. Mew has been… getting worse while you were away. Though if we both disappeared…_

Al said softly, "You're welcome to join us, though I suggest you link yourself to a pokeball, if you haven't already." Mewtwo smiled slightly, and said, _I already have. Those machines will believe I am the registered pokemon of 'Alexander the pokemon master', and will deliberately fail._

Al laughed, and helped Mewtwo to his feet, rather than letting the psychic levitate himself up. "Come on, time to eat. Sunheart is hungry, and I could use something cold to munch on." Without giving the psychic a chance to complain, he tossed the six foot seven pokemon a grey cloak, and then walked out the door.

Mewtwo looked doubtfully at the cloak, then the two pokemon who were looking at him, obviously waiting. After a moment, he asked, _Al's been planning, hasn't he? Revenge for last time?_

Gardevoir merely nodded, though the irritable legendary couldn't help but spot the smile the two pokemon had on their faces.

He shook his head. Dealing with Al, even with the quirks he had, was a far better alternative than Mew.

He was seriously starting to consider that option, of traveling with his 'brother'. Al was famed for his ability to teach his pokemon moves that normally they could not use, as well as some moves he'd made up… and Mewtwo was interested in the pure intellectual concept. True, he'd mastered himself to the point where he could use attacks 'that had never been seen before', but it might be interesting to see what Al had come up with… he was very devious, though Mew lacked that knowledge about her 'son'. Rebellious, she knew about. But not just how cunning Al could be, if pressed.

Mewtwo stepped outside, shrouded in the cloak, Al's pokemon, a vast difference in size between the two, led him through the small town he'd never visited before, to a small café. Al was sitting at a table… and as usual, his pokemon were out, all of them speaking to each other, debating about something. He didn't want to know, after Aero mentioned 'Kabuto livers'.

Al, however, seemed to be immune, for all the fact that he HAD to understand what they were saying. Mewtwo commented wearily (he still was recovering from having all his muscles 'unknotted', though now they were bothering him), _Is this the usual conversation?_

Al looked at the arguing pokemon, and shrugged. "Eh, Gardevoir stays out of it, as does Sunheart. The other four just like to argue about food… odd that Gengar can eat, though."

Mewtwo blinked, and said slowly, _Very odd, considering Gengar normally don't._

Al raised his hands, and said, "Bro, you don't want to know. Trust me."

The genetic pokemon nodded quietly, while Al spoke to the waitress, ordering what his pokemon called for (ironically, some trainers had close enough bonds that they could understand the gist of what their pokemon said… and Al just went a step beyond), and Mewtwo telepathically informed Al of what he would like.

Al gave the genetic pokemon a strange look, then said, "And a fruit salad with the soup for my friend."

The waitress arched an eyebrow, but with a nod from the cloaked figure, turned and walked away.

Al looked bemusedly toward Gardevoir, who was sitting at the table with them. She was looking out at the other five pokemon, who had moved from the topic of food to philosophy, on the subject of life after death.

Al, who always kept quiet during these debates, listened, as did Gardevoir and a bemused Mewtwo.

&&&&&

Al stood, and said, "Well, I'm off to go kick the butt of the gym leader. You want to watch, or going to hit the hot springs again?"

Mewtwo tilted his head slightly, and commented, _As relaxing as another heating session sounds, I would like to see just how much you've broken Mew's rules about teaching your pokemon moves._

Al grinned demonically, and returned all of his pokemon, walking with a cheerful whistle towards a large building. The cloaked Mewtwo trailed behind him, wondering why Al seemed to be enjoying himself so much.

They entered the building, which seemed to be a typical gym setup, though it had a few steaming holes nearby.

A woman with fiery red hair was sitting at a desk nearby, going over something that looked suspiciously like paperwork, before she looked up, and cried happily, "YES! A challenger! I can put this paperwork off!"

She stood with a demented smile, and said, "I hope I'm not mistaken in my guess, anyway…"

Al snorted, and said, "I'm here for a battle. You up for it?"

The woman nodded, and called, "Slug, go!" She released a pokeball, a Slugma popping out, then said, "This will be a four on four match, no time limit. I can't swap out, but you can. Ready to go?"

Al nodded, and pulled out a pokeball, releasing it onto the field. As soon as it opened, Aero took flight, circling around the battlefield's ceiling. The woman however, was staring, saying, "No way… how did you get a pokemon like that?"

Al shrugged, grinning. "Aero came to me, really. Now, about that battle…"

"Oh… right… ready, begin! Slug, use Rock Throw!"

Aero blurred away from the slow-moving rocks, then launched himself at the magma-like pokemon, stones rising from the ground and trailing behind it. Aero connected with the attack, and then pulled back up, the barrage of stones hitting the Slugma until it passed out.

The gym leader recalled her pokemon, seemingly in shock. "What move was that?"

Al shrugged. "A modified Ancientpower. It drags behind it enough rocks to make a Rock Slide. So if Aero connects, you basically get hit by two attacks. Hope you have a Rapidash…"

The woman frowned, then threw another pokemon out. A Camerupt, interestingly enough…

Aero, resembling a blur, impacted the ground three times around the Camerupt, making a triangle around the slower-moving pokemon, if one connected the points of impact.

The ground underneath the pokemon exploded, and it was launched into the air, before it fell back down.

Flannery bit her lip, as she returned her passed-out pokemon. She recognized that attack… "Just who are you? I've never had any challenger that doesn't even let me get off a successful attack before."

Al sighed, and smiled slightly. "I'm Alexander. Probably the one you're thinking of."

His comment earned a sharp intake of breath from the gym leader, as she stared at him, a little bit of fan-girl showing in her expression. Al turned, looking back at Mewtwo, silently saying, _Amazing, isn't it?_

Mewtwo, who had been about to comment, paused, and then nodded slightly. Al wasn't paying attention as Flannery abandoned the usual rules, and walked over to the hybrid. He didn't catch on about her presence until she turned his head around with two hands, and peered into his eyes. After a moment, she released his head, and said lightly, "I think I'll concede this battle, it's obvious your pokemon is too fast, my pokemon don't have enough of an advantage to keep up." She pulled out the Heat Badge, pressing it into Al's hand, and then said, "Mind if I ask you something?"

Al shrugged, saying, "Not really…"

"What happened to you? You've been 'missing' for a long time. I mean… if you'll tell me."

Al arched an eyebrow, before saying very quietly, "I was in a sacred area, where humans should not tread. I nearly died from it." Mewtwo winced at Al's true statement. Sacred areas / spots were places where humans should not travel, alright… because the hybrids or pokemon there would strike them dead with no warning, or chance to get away. And Al had nearly died… though not from the experience. It was more from Mew's training… Mewtwo had to admit he had been a rough teacher as well, but back then, he was coerced into helping Mew, and while he was reluctant to strike at her, he was not as reluctant to vent his emotions on his 'student'.

Flannery winced. She'd heard tales of Sacred areas, forbidden to humans, but never really believed in them. And now… here was a pokemon master twiceover, who looked ready to become a triple master, saying he'd crossed a line he shouldn't have, and nearly died because of it. "Oh… well… sorry for bringing it up…"

Al shrugged slightly. "I learned something from it, though, so it wasn't a waste." At Flannery's look, Al said grimly, "Humanity is going to be destroyed by their own stupidity, unless the people in charge get a good kick up the ass."

Flannery arched an eyebrow, and Al said quietly, "Hybrids. Imagine what would happen, if legendary hybrids existed, like some rumors I've heard. Now normally, they'd just want to live in peace… but if that option isn't available, shouldn't we be worried about them destroying cities in retaliation?"

Flannery shook at the mental image of her beloved town becoming covered with snow, or burning down as Mt Chimney erupted suddenly, a hybrid like the pokemon Groudon standing near the mouth of the volcano. "No… we've got to stop those hybrids…"

Al frowned, and gripped her shoulder tightly. Flannery snapped back to reality from the pain in her shoulder, as Al said slowly, "We've got to stop OURSELVES. Didn't you hear me? I LIVED WITH THEM, Flannery. I heard their stories. They were completely human in mind. And you know what? The few hotheaded legendary hybrids that were there were being controlled by the others, who were begging them not to start a real war, one that could potentially wipe out humanity. After all… who do you think pokemon will side with? Heard of any legendary sightings recently?" Flannery shook her head slowly, and Al said simply, "The legendary pokemon are backing the hybrids. Ho-oh, Mew, Lugia… I saw those three legendary pokemon there. None of them like how ugly humanity is becoming. Hell, I even saw Zapdos there, standing peacefully with Articuno!"

Flannery stared at the pokemon master, her eyes wide. She could almost swear his eyes were glowing, and she definitely felt something coming off of him. Very slowly, she said, "I… I believe I understand. But… all of them can't be good!"

Al responded deadpan, "Neither are all humans good. We're flawed creatures. What's your point? Just live and let live, until one does something against the legal laws that make sense… and you'd have hybrids willing to help you out, I'm sure of it." Al turned, pocketing the heat badge, and said, "Think about it, alright? Because when I do get my third mastership… things are going to change, and change drastically." He released his Gardevoir as he returned his Aerodactyl, and the two, as well as the strange cloaked figure, disappeared without any sign of being there… besides the fact that Flannery had two defeated pokemon, was short one Heat Badge, and had a lot of issues to think about.

&&&&&

Al was carefully looking over Aerodactyl, his fingers tracing possible muscle problems along the pokemon's rocky hide. Mewtwo, within the hot water, watched silently, before Al nodded, saying, "Well, you're ok Aero. No damage."

The Aerodactyl stood, and yawned, sleepy from the hot steam, which didn't hurt him, but did drain his energy away enough to make him tired. Al brought up his pokeball, and returned the ancient pokemon into the ball. He rolled his shoulders, then headed to another pool, one full of powerful jets of water blasting from it.

Gardevoir winced slightly at his climbing in, which Al caught, and laughed, his ears flicking around on his head. He mentally used Gardevoir's real name, then added in normal speech, "It's built for humans that weight more than a hundred pounds, and have less… delicate bodies than you do. Relax."

Gardevoir nodded slightly, but still kept a worried eye on him, even as he grabbed a handful of papers, and started to scan them, occasionally muttering profanities.

Mewtwo had a few of the discarded sheets float over to him, and scanned them over. They looked like printouts from newspaper websites…

'Hybrids attack town, sweeping laws proposed to deal with menace'

'Celadon passes new law – hybrids are forbidden to enter city'

'Indigo Plateau says that Alexander is not dead – details inside'

Mewtwo cynically read over the last article, laughing at some of the 'theories' that the paper had come up with – he'd caught the Legendary Ho-oh, and was busy training it (not likely, Ho-oh was far too proud to actually BE anyone's pokemon). He especially liked the one that theorized Al was too busy 'pimping' to appear in the public eye.

Mewtwo chuckled, and commented, _The human media seems to live on supposition, when it comes to you, little brother._

"Well, since I regularly tell all media hounds to go to hell, and I've taken to using Sunheart's Stun Spore to keep them away from me before I became a hybrid, they're kinda in fear of me. So since I'm presumed undercover, they have to make up ridiculous stories, because they know if I got wind of really bad press, I'd take it up with their boss… and Gardevoir left behind a lot of nightmares, last time."

Gardevoir smiled, looking feral for a moment, before seemingly returning to normal, with an innocent expression. Al laughed at her expression, his tail (unseen underneath all the water) waving in amusement.

The three psychics were quiet, as they felt another pokemon wandering about, doing a patrol for security. It did peer in, but with a glare from Mewtwo, turned, and forgot what it saw, ignoring the scents of two Mew-like creatures, and a Gardevoir that was radiating a quiet calm.

&&&&&

Mewtwo blinked himself awake, looking over at where Al was resting. He shook his head, and called, _Al, I believe it's been a week. We're due to leave._

Al muttered a curse into his pillow, pulled his head out of it, his ears low to his skull, before he hissed, and fell back asleep.

Mewtwo sighed, and picked up the cloak that he liked to wear. He was known enough here (as a supposed human) with telekinetic and telepathic psychic powers, and was 'heavily burned', so no one minded when he liked to keep his figure hidden.

He took a small amount of money from Al, and teleported to the same breakfast / brunch place he'd eaten nearly a week before, and ordered another fruit salad via telepathy. Once the curious waitress left, he slowly ate the fruit, enjoying the rich taste that other fruit didn't have sometimes, before paying his bill, and walking a fair distance away, and teleporting into Al's room. The hybrid was just awakening... finally.


	3. Corruption, a hack story

A/N: I like to call this story 'hacking', for all that it isn't. It's a .hack fanfic, which is a bit off my usual choice of work. It's great for when I need to burn off my sci-fi urges, though. Again, I doubt this story will be actually 'published', it's just... here, for people to comment on. If you want me to continue it, that's great, let me know. Who knows, maybe I'll get that spark back.

Song of the future:

A still figure sat in a chair, motionless, then collapsed, eyes blank.

Inside a virtual world, a character screamed as their core code was modified.

Kite, his face stormy, stood opposite another twin blade, one with a galaxy spiral on his cheek. The two screamed battle cry, and charged each other.

Within a dark sanctuary, a bitter smile glimmered.

The same twin blade that fought Kite stood, his entire coloring now a light-eating black. His eyes flicked from a silver, then darkened to a black as well, as he slowly walked away, the area around him showing signs of damage – bits of binary were visible.

The dark twin blade stood again against Kite, and the two charged each other, Kite having a bitter expression on his face, the black one having no expression at all. As they clashed, the area showed signs of heavy damage, eventually the two were dueling in a binary grid.

Kite started to fall in death, Black Rose screaming at the shadowy figure walking away, then attempting to charge it. Without looking, it raised a hand, and blasted her back.

The shadowy figure raises a hand, then aims it directly at Kite. A bracelet appears on its wrist, and starts to flicker. Kite, in response, activates his Data Drain, the two attacks smashing into each other.

The cloak was ripped aside by the wavemaster, revealing the dark twin blade. He looks at the wavemaster in shock, then hangs his head, a black aura surrounding him. She steps back, and then starts shouting directly at him, the dark blade not listening at all.

A Data Bug attacks a female long arm, then is destroyed by one of her swipes. Just as she sighs in relief, a cloaked figure turns away, his right wrist glimmering.

Helba crosses her arms at a black-cloaked figure, and says something. The figure shakes it's cloaked head, and turns, walking away. Where it once stood, the data pertaining to the area shows damage, binary code becoming visible.

Kite twirled desperately, dodging as the new form of Skeith attacked, and is joined by the cloaked figure, who draws a wicked-looking Heavy Blade weapon that glows with a red aura in the virtual light.

Kite looked in shock at the figure, even as it charges, and starts hacking away at the Terror of Death, with every slice, somehow corrupting the monster enough for Kite to use his Bracelet to Data Drain it into nothing.

Lios glares at the cloaked figure, who stands in front of him. Other administrators surround him, and as one, a bright light strikes the figure, engulfing it. When the display is over, the cloaked figure remains there, seemingly unharmed. There seems to be a suggestion of 'are you done yet?' in the figure's stance.

Aura speaks quietly to the figure, her eyes concerned. The figure slowly lowers its hood, revealing a blackly-glimmering tattoo in the shape of a galaxy spiral, and light-leaching black hair. Surrounding him is a shadowy aura.

Slowly, the goddess of the dawn draws back, shocked by the figure's appearance.

Orca and Balmung, along with Kite, charge beside the cloaked figure toward a massive shadow that radiates a sick green light. While the three dot hackers glimmer with a white light, the cloaked figure glows ominously with a similar light, though the figure's is a blood red that pulses with a sick heartbeat.

Corruption:

A twin-blade character appeared before the Chaos Gate, a small smile on his face. It was one of the newest patches for the game – it made the game far more realistic. Players set the general average 'mood' of the character based on their preferences, and depending on the situation, it would vary from grinning (in a variety of styles, based upon the 'personality' of the character), which occurred during good fortune events for the character, to a frown (usually during bad times). Characters also looked pained when they took heavy amounts of damage to their life points.

The personality set was a rarely-used one, for this character – a 'bizarre' personality that meant the user modified the mood regularly.

The character itself was something of a standard – mussed-up hair (a light blue), something a bit above the 'average' character height, a teenaged age that looked somewhere between a rugged hero, and a depressed 'angsty' teen in body stature and facially. His clothing was a deep azure that didn't look too out of place in Mac Anu, and the pants were rather baggy, while the shirt was something less so, and completed with a mildly tight vest. On his cheek rested a tattoo of a galaxy, the spiral kind. It was in a clockwise rotation, with the arms starting at the twelve and six positions and spiraling outward, even crossing his right eye, mixing with the ice-cold eye color the player had chosen.

He looked about, then made a shrugging motion, before running through town, weaving past some players, and occasionally passing through them (sometimes, that still happened, even for all that Cyber Corp had worked to stop that). Eventually, he reached one unassuming building, and he knocked one of the doors, which had a strange, magical-looking mark. After a moment, the door creaked open, and he entered the dwelling.

Immediately, he was tackled by a flying female form. He chuckled, and said, "Oh… hey there, cutie." Slowly, he reached upward from his fallen position (the glomp, in this game, literally knocked the 'gompee' over, and took the 'glomper' with the 'glompee'). The female character's expression shifted to a dirty look, before being replaced with a grin as she stood. Slowly the male twin blade stood as well, and smiled as well.

The female character drew a staff, revealing her class (though generally, the only class that usually dressed in something akin to a bikini), a wavemaster. Her hair was brown, and she had tattoos around her stomach, which was flat and had a soft athletic tone to it. "Sheesh Cal, you'd think you'd know better then knocking."

Cal, the Twin Blade, laughed. "I do know better. But think if this was real, Ashkrath…"

There was a brief silence, then the wavemaster blushed. She stammered, "You… you… you GUY!"

Cal rolled his eyes. "Ashkrath, that was clue enough. You're a girl, and you make it obvious enough that it's evident to the perverts who ask people to pose nude. Though why did you choose this look, anyway? You've never said…"

The blush faded, then renewed itself. Her foot ground into the stone, then eventually, she said, "Uhm… I think it's sexy. Can't a girl go for the minimalist look too?"

Cal chuckled. "Indeed. Just wondering, because if you played a male character…" "Ew…" Cal amended, "If you weren't so determined NOT to play a male character, and tried it, you'd find out that the idiots in this game that you're bothered with don't bug the male characters, even if your reactions are a bit… off."

Ashkrath remained still, then asked curiously, "Why? What are you, some super-male analyst?"

Cal shook his head, a grin on his face. "Nope. I'm just a guy who doesn't suffer from hormones very often, and a penchant for trying to figure out those that do. Apparently, I can get into their heads… somewhat. Disturbing place, there…"

Ashkrath frowned, then shook her head. "Alright, alright, I get the picture. Next time, choose an outfit that doesn't draw angsty teens unless I want to deal with those sort of questions. I get it."

Cal nodded, then turned toward the door. "Why'd you call me, anyway?"

The wavemaster remained still, then bit her lip for a moment. "I… well, I wanted to ask for a favor. A game friend of mine went to Infected Corrupted Holy Ground on a dare, and she hasn't gotten back to me. I've virt-mailed her three times, and I get the same response – 'send high-leveled help, in over head, can't warp out'.

Cal blinked, and then sighed. "I'm your highest-leveled friend?"

Ashkrath nodded. "Yeah, actually. I swear, you're the only one that I know who can seemingly get through any dungeon without too much trouble."

Cal sighed, then nodded. "Alright, I'll go. You coming with?"

She shook her head. "No, I'd better not. Too low-leveled, I think. My magic's not strong enough."

Cal snorted. "Stop using levels. They don't exist anymore. It's just strength, or whatever the word they use is. I'll go see if I can help her, that area's supposedly haunted, though. What's her name?"

Ashkrath said slowly, "Medicha. She's a Twin Blade like yourself."

Cal nodded, and walked out. He then remained still, before casting a spell, and racing at a quick speed, even for a twin blade, toward the Chaos Gate, and disappeared as he made contact with it.

&&&&&

Cal looked around the area, then shuddered with a quick command. This area was creepy – a programmer must have had one sick sense of humor, or something. The area wasn't normal, at all. The sky had some patches of blackened sky, but interrupting those patches were sickening green areas, that had what looked to be binary code. The same went for everything else – part normal scenery, part binary code. Either this area was supposed to be this way, or something was seriously wrong with the area.

Cal shuddered again, then quickly muttered some spells to enhance his strength, endurance, and recovery rate, before activating a item, and looking at the virtual image it projected. On it was the representations for a great deal of portals, and the dungeon was surrounded by what looked like four of them.

With a sigh, he cast another spell, that had been recently introduced – invisibility. It was very costly, but it meant he could travel near portals and not activate them. Once the spell activated, he ran off toward the dungeon.

Once inside, the same theme was in effect – damaged area appearance. Mentally, he wondered if the admins were aware of the situation, it seemed like this area needed serious maintenance. But he pressed on, fighting off the occasional monster as he did so, using Fairy's Orbs on occasion to try and locate any players – it looked like Ashkrath's friend must have gotten deep into the dungeon.

&&&&&

With a bitter smile, Cal popped open the treasure chest that the slain monster had dropped. The monsters here were tough – very tough. Normally, he managed to get away with pure physical attacks to destroy a monster, but in this dungeon, he had to constantly use his spells and abilities to help destroy the monsters before they killed him, so he was starting to run low on magic.

In return, however… he took the door to the right, the one Ashkrath's friend was in. The other door (not counting the one he'd used to get into the room) was very… odd, it had sick green flames baring the way into the room.

He passed through the door, and looked around. She was supposed to be in this room… "Medicha? I'm a friend of Ashkrath's..."

He finally caught sight of a character standing in the corner, near what looked to be a 'corrupted' area. Strangely, her character's binary was also visible, and it seemed like it was flickering in and out of existence.

The character turned, and stared at him, before lunging at him. He managed to evade her, but said, "What's wrong with you? Stop trying to attack me!"

She didn't stop, and Cal was forced to use his weapons – which resembled a circle, with blades on them, excepting the part he held in his character's hand, to defend himself. Frustrated, he blocked her two weapons with one hand, trapping them in the circle, then attacked with his other weapon, slicing her arm with a targeted attack.

Finally, he elicited a response, though it wasn't what he expected – "Glen'nashra… must… spread…"

The person behind the character blinked in confusion, but during that less-than-second, Medicha somehow struck his character. Her binary code disappeared, revealing a normal Twin Blade, who looked panicked.

Cal frowned, and his two weapons were at her neck. "Explain yourself, now, or I kill you."

The girl gasped, and disappeared. Cal swore, and then angrily tried to use a Sprite to chase after that lunatic. Ashkrath sure had a weird taste in friends… but his sprite didn't work. He couldn't use it to escape.

With a muted sigh, he walked out of the room, and back into the larger (and empty) room. Strangely, the door back was closed – it must be an event, of some sort. With a shrug, he walked through the green flames, and into the next room.

&&&&&

Cal looked at the figure before him. It was a pulsing red color, and seemed to be a mass of jelly. Weird, there weren't any monsters like that in The World at all... but the Battle Mode was turned on, so it must be a unique monster.

He dashed forward, and struck quickly with several spells cast on the run – a unique feature only Twin Blades could use, by sacrificing some extra mana, they didn't have to remain motionless to cast.

Several bolts of lightning rained down on the red foe, followed by a pillar of ice. Then Cal himself struck at the monster, his blade glowing darkly as he spun, attacking the mass of jelly.

Over the thing's head, zeros appeared repeatedly. He switched tactics, and backed off (strangely, the monster hadn't done anything to respond yet), and used other elements. Earth, Fire, Nature… those did not have any effect either.

Reluctantly, he moved up to the character, and swiped at it with unenchanted blade. That caused some damage, actually.

The monster seemed to realize he was there, because suddenly, it enveloped Cal… then began to be absorbed into him.

The human behind the player stared, as he watched his character… absorb the weird monster. This was one hell of a weird event…

Suddenly, he felt exhausted, like he had been pulling another 72 hour stunt of staying awake again. He made to access his inventory, to use the sprite (after all, there wasn't any more dungeon, so that must have been the event) and then log out after saving… but the screen flickered, and then…

A body slowly lifted the goggles, then fell over, eyes blank.

Corrupted

Slowly, the Twin Blade stood from his collapsed position. He rubbed his head, then stopped, and slowly brought it down, staring at it. "What… no… way…"

His blue eyes flicked downward, and he examined himself to the best of his ability, before looking like he was ready to faint. "No, this isn't possible… this is just some weird-ass dream I'm having…" He was cut off by a sudden, splitting and all-consuming… pain.

His eyes, squeezed shut, didn't see that he was now hovering above the ground, while the area had taken on a sickening red-black color, and was reduced to binary. The binary strings detached from their normal shape, and instead swirled around him, giving off the sickening red and black light.

Suddenly, he started screaming in pain, unable to keep the howl inside of him, even with his jaw clenched. Cal began to… change. His clothing turned from blue to a light-eating black, and his shirt and vest went the same way. His hair, formerly a light blue, was a blood-red color that constantly wavered from blood coloration to midnight black. The weapons he used disappeared, and were replaced with twin rapiers that were both black, and had a wicked-looking cutting edge that tapered off to a deadly-looking point. There were runes all over the blade, glowing a malevolent blood color similar to Cal's hair, though seemingly twisted, and evil-looking.

The howl stopped, and the Twin Blade (though his class was now questionable) disappeared from the room, dungeon, and area in general. From his posture just previous to his vanishing, he had passed out from a pain overload.

&&&&&

Cal slowly woke up again, reached out with blackened gloves to the ground he was sprawled on. He slowly pushed himself off the ground, wincing in pain the entire time, even as he stood unsteadily. "Ow…"

With a great deal of reluctance, he slowly opened his eyes, hissing as he did so. They were now… far different then the norm. The iris and white was no longer different colored – they were both black as night, but glowed softly. The pupil was no longer black, instead, it was a blood red color. His vision, however, was normal enough, though when he looked toward players or NPCs, he could see a faint (for lack of a better word) aura around them.

Slowly, he managed to raise his hand, and looked at his own 'aura' – it was different. Blood-red throughout.

With a muted sigh, he walked toward the tavern of Mac Anu. He slipped inside without a great deal of trouble, and plopped down in one of the free stools (there weren't that many people here, so there was plenty of seating).

The bartender, an archtype of his occupation – balding, fat, and the rest of the stereotypical Medieval bartender, asked without looking up from cleaning a glass, "What'll it be?"

Cal thought for a moment, then said dryly, "Sake. Big a glass as you've got… screw it, just give me a bottle of the stuff."

The barkeeper remained still for a moment, then reached behind the counter, and produced a bottle. He placed it in front of Cal, and Cal habitually reached into his pocket while the barkeeper said, "That will be twenty GP…." He found a few coins in there, and pulled them out. One had a 20 printed on it, so he handed it to the barkeeper. Then, something odd happened – the barkeeper's image flickered, and was replaced with static for several seconds, before returning to normal. "Thank you, and enjoy."

Cal shrugged, grabbed the bottle, and walked out. He intended to find a quiet corner of Mac Anu, get as drunk as possible (assuming he could get drunk in his state), and sleep for a long time, until this nightmare or whatever was over.

He crossed the central bridge, took a right, and followed the path that lead to a little-used section of the city – a dead end, with no stores nearby. He then opened the bottle, and drank straight from it. He spat out his first mouthful with a look of distaste on his face – the stuff, to him, tasted like crap. Making a face, he tilted his head upward, and then drank from the bottle, guzzling the drink, and thankfully, hardly able to taste it.

After the bottle was finished off (which took only a short amount of time), he tossed it into the river, and curled up into a ball.

The drink started to take effect, and he felt like trying to swim in the river, but was too comfortable curled up in the ball to move, so he stayed like that, until he passed out.

&&&&&

"Hey, you ok… weird character…"

Cal moaned, and rubbed his head, trying to shut out the voice. He just wanted to curl up and sleep for longer, so when he woke up, he'd be home.

The voice continued to chatter like a moron, and in his groggy state, he grabbed one of his weapons, and sliced out toward the speaker. It shut up after he felt some slight resistance from his swing, and he curled back up to go back to sleep.

&&&&&

Cal finally woke up, and rubbed his head. The penalties for drinking excessively in the world were rather… bizarre – your character's words came across as slurred (no surprise), but also, they walked in a stagger, and in combat, they sometimes had very bizarre results. One case was getting killed by a monster that normally would be a simple one-hit kill, or in another case, killing a monster that if they weren't drunk, it couldn't have happened. Some players actually used that, and played drunkards just for that reason.

Cal had no such symptoms, however. A mild headache that he could ignore, and a bit of sensitivity to light, but that was it. Thankfully, he was in a dark place…

He opened his eyes, and blinked curiously at the prison he'd found himself awakening in. "Uhm… what did I do?"

There wasn't a response, not that he expected one. With a muted sigh, he took out his weapons, and started tapping them against the bar doors, burning time. Strangely, with each tap, there was a different noise produced by the bar, and it got higher and higher on the note scale with every tap.

Curious, he tapped one bar repeatedly and rapidly. The bar flickered, then was turned into a green string of… binary.

Cal arched an eyebrow, and held both his weapons in one hand, while he reached out with his other hand. He waved it at the bar's binary code, but it went straight through it.

Now he had a dilemma – he knew he was in prison for something he'd done. Though from what he could remember (which wasn't much), he'd just curled up in a ball, and slept in a out-of-the-way alley. There had been… something… that disturbed him, but it went away eventually.

He shrugged, then proceeded to tap the two bars surrounding the damaged bar. He wanted out, and he didn't know why he was stuck behind bars, anyway.

After the other two bars became binary, he slipped out of the prison, and looked around, before spotting a door that had light dancing around it. With a shrug, he walked toward it, and pushed it open, squinting his eyes as he walked into the bright sunlight.

As he left, he looked back at the building he'd left. "Mac Anu prison." He'd only heard a little bit about that place – supposedly, illegal characters were placed there, before their fate was determined by the administrators.

He shrugged, and kept on walking. He walked past a few guards, who didn't seem to care, then, oddly, the sky darkened.

He looked about curiously, before he smirked. This event he was familiar with, at least. Once in awhile, the administrators let a town be 'attacked' by monsters that were usually kept to areas.

With a practiced eye, he looked around for any monsters, and as they materialized, he smiled coldly. Well, at least here was something he knew what to do to deal with – just kill all the monsters he could.

A player who was beside him called, "What's going on? Why are there monsters coming in here?"

Cal charged toward a goblin that had appeared, and cut it into three even pieces (head, torso, and legs), before turning and responding, "Mac Anu is under attack. Deal with it, or log out."

The male Blademaster slowly nodded, and his weapon appeared in his hand. "These fiends will stand no chance against…"

Cal rolled his eyes, and ran away from the player. From his mannerisms, he was roleplaying a paladin-like blademaster. But knowing the odds, he would have been attacked eventually, for being an 'evil scourge' – those players tended to attack anyone who chose an 'evil' look.

Cal kept on moving, then was stopped by a large golem that was standing in his way. It turned toward him, then lashed out with a stony fist. He waited patiently as the fist came at him, then, rather than jumping aside, jumped ONTO the arm, and dragged both blades behind him as he charged up the arm, heading directly toward the head.

It attempted to free itself from him before he could strike, but he held his footing well enough to finish his mad dash, and got to the head of the creature, bringing down both his blades into the head of it, then twisted the blades.

Something inside of him made him shout, "Darkness Explosion," just as he finished twisting the blades, and jumped off, landing in a crouch. He turned to look back at the golem, and his jaw dropped.

It was covered with… a glowing red goo. After a few moments, the goo entered the monster, and it glowed darkly, before exploding.

Cal blinked, then smirked. "Cool. I wonder what else I can do now…" A cheer cut off his thoughts, and he looked wildly around, seeing that he had a few spectators who had watched him fight. He blinked, then shook his head, shouting, "Less watch, more fight! Or should I turn into a PKer to clear the way?"

Those that had been watching turned toward other battles, some entering the fray themselves. Cal shrugged, and dashed away at his high speed again. He rounded a corner, entering the 'party-forming' area of Mac Anu, where lower-leveled players tended to gather to form parties, and was greeted by another large monster, this one a demon type.

It had arrived with a wave of fire, he noticed – because the players surrounding it either showed scorch marks, or were dead, depending upon their magical resistance. Smirking, he remained still, then locked his blades together, trying to cast his Thunder spell.

The bolt of lightning did appear… but it was a bolt of black lightning, though the demon did seem taken aback by the hit. Cal then charged in, blades whirling. He struck repeatedly at the demon, and like before… odd things happened after every blow. He could see the demon's… aura, and with every strike, it became more and more twisted. Almost like his own, really… eventually, it became a duplicate color. The demon was damaged, but now it wasn't striking back at him. Instead, it just stood there, while other players, taken aback by it's lack of response, froze as well.

Cal took a moment, then experimentally ordered, "Die." He didn't know what told him to do that, he just had a feeling that he was controlling the demon now – and he didn't want a demonic pet. A dragon, that was an interesting idea, but not a…

The demon, it's eyes a burning red now (instead of a sickening yellow) nodded, and then exploded in a burst of light. Cal looked around, then looked for more enemies to attack, only to sigh in disappointment. Each invasion was lead by a 'commander', that when you destroyed it, the other monsters disappeared. Since he had just destroyed the commander, all the other monsters were gone.

He looked for a treasure chest that should have popped out, but there wasn't one. With a shrug, he turned, and walked through the players who were standing there, some talking rapidly with others. Supposedly, he wasn't supposed to hear 'party mode' speech, but he could.

Just as he was about to make for the Chaos Gate, a several guards surrounded him, and stated, "By order of CC corp, your character is under arrest on suspicion of hacking. You will come with us."

Cal shook his head, and then struck out with one of his rapiers, using the other one to hack at the closest sword, taking the guards by surprise. The rules said that you couldn't attack administrators when they were in 'admin' mode, but apparently, he was now an exception to that rule, and many others. Before they could react, he dove for the Chaos Gate, and entered an area.

Five very shocked and disturbed guards looked at their comrade, the sixth guard. His character was clearly damaged by the player's attack.

Their boss, a system administrator, showed up a minute later. He looked them over, then nodded to the damaged guard. "Report to maintenance, have them look over what that kid did, see if it's some sort of virus. The rest of you get back to work, I'm going to set that hacker as a higher priority, if he can break through admin protection. Maybe a board wide announcement wouldn't be that far off…" The system administrator absently waved the guards off, and stood there, thinking deeply, before nodding to himself. The player's name was corrupted and composed of nonsense characters that shouldn't exist, his weapons were not a legal Twin Blade weapon, and he had used two skills that definitely showed signs of hacking (he even infected a monster with a controlling virus). The System Admin mentally started to compare the newest opponent with Helba, the ever-present foe to the administrators.

&&&&&

Cal had been laying low for the last… however long it had been. He'd chosen to warp to the highest-level server in existence, then used the Chaos Gate to go to a super-high leveled area. He'd cleaned out the area and the dungeon (he'd even picked up some powerful armor that he swapped out for his other armor… he'd literally just slipped it on, and known he'd 'equipped it'), and now was just simply watching the sky, stretched out on the ground, and mentally reviewing what he could do.

His talents seemed to be almost like viruses. He could corrupt a monster, and make it weaker, take it over and have it serve him (currently, he had a Dark Dragon guarding him – it fit), or just plain infect and destroy something, utterly. How long it took to accomplish what he wanted to do varied on the strength of the monster – weakening took some blows, utter destruction required more, and his focusing upon that only (he'd learned that by accident – he got pissed off). Controlling took the most, though when he gained possession of a monster, he could use healing spells on it. He looked over at his 'pet', then shrugged. It definitely looked fierce, though he mentally thought that the demon he'd ordered to kill itself had higher stats.

The dragon looked like most, except that on the wings, the lower part was a glowing green, and the chest was his red color. He didn't know why monsters changed when he controlled them, but they did.

He yawned, and was about to go to sleep again, when a voice cried, "Watch out! You've got a dragon near you!"

Cal shot up, and looked over at the source of the cry. A Heavy Blade, along with a Wavemaster, and a Long Arm, were racing over. Cal walked in between them and his pet, and waited for them to arrive, before saying, "It's mine. This area's empty, go somewhere else."

The Heavy Blade (who was dressed like a Warrior Woman, even up to the breastplate), stared at him, and said slowly, "Uhm… why isn't it attacking?"

Cal looked up at his 'pet' (it was glaring at the three, wings spread, and teeth bared), before saying lightly, "Because I tamed it. Now go away. Like I said, this area's been cleaned out, and it won't reset until I leave… which won't be for some time. Go."

The wavemaster shook his head, a frown on his face. "I know I've seen your character before… hey! You're that guy from Mac Anu, the one that killed the demon!"

Cal shrugged again, then slowly set himself down on the grass. "So what if I was?"

The Long Arm, another girl, said in a monotone, "The administrators are looking for you. They said you're a hacker."

Cal snorted, and waved a empty hand at them. "And if you'd left me alone, you would be left in peace. Now just forget you saw me, because if I see one administrator rushing here, I'm going to hunt you three down, and cause so much damage to your character data, you'll never be able to use them again."

The three party members gasped at his bald statement, then the Wavemaster shouted, "Hey! Don't you threaten us! We're no noob you can boss around!"

Cal snorted, and rolled his head so he was looking at the three. He then yawned, and said simply, "I wasn't threatening. Promising was what that was. If you don't sick admins on me, we will have no further contact. If you do, then I will come after you. And don't think I can't, what I did to that demon is only the tip of the iceberg. So just leave me alone."

Two of the three left, leaving behind the Heavy Blade. She walked up to him, and stood beside him, saying softly, "Why are you threatening us?"

Cal sighed, and looked up at her. There was an inhalation sound from her, she must have been taken aback by what he'd found – what his eyes currently looked like. "Because. I don't know why I have these abilities, but I do. I can't even log out of this nightmare, so I'd rather just sit in peace. I know what my abilities can do, and none of them are normal…"

The Heavy Blade sat down next to him, and brought her knees to her chest. "Hey, what's wrong with you? You're acting like this is real life… it's just a character. Even if you spent so much time making him, you can always remake him later…"

Cal sighed, and brought his hands to his eyes. "Look. To you, this is a game, right?" He didn't need to see to know she nodded, as he continued, "But to me, it isn't. I can't log out. At all. This IS REAL LIFE to me. Getting hit hurts. Dying… well, I think that if I died, I won't come back to life. Somehow, I've gotten stuck in this place."

There was a dead silence, and he looked over at the Heavy Blade, who had an awestruck expression on her face. She absently played with a strand of green hair, before saying, "I… how?"

Cal sighed. "I don't know. I'm just tired of this, that's all. I can sleep, but not for nearly as long as I want to, and not needing to eat or drink is driving me slowly insane."

The Heavy Blade nodded slowly. "I can only imagine. Uhm… if I give you my member address, do you mind if I pop in to talk to you? I've heard rumors of this happening in other games before… do you mind if I go check some information, then come back?"

Cal nodded slowly. "Sure. I'll be here, unless the admins find me."

The Heavy Blade, Elda, said softly, "I won't say a word to them. You were just some weird player who was laying around in an empty area, with a black outfit. Nothing wrong with that. And I know those two, I'll tell them the same. They'll listen."

"Thanks."

She disappeared, and Cal sighed, then went back to contemplating the sky, thinking about that odd girl. Why would someone… he blinked, then slowly tilted his head. When he thought about her, he got a feeling of words… the root town. As if… somehow, he had a feeling she was… there.

He blinked, then mused aloud, "Now that is… odd. Eh, maybe it's her member address doing that. I just hope I don't infect her just because of that, she doesn't seem that bad…"

The feeling faded away, and Cal shrugged, believing that Elda had probably logged out.

Learning:

Topic: Mac Anu's recent attack

Poster: Zero

Did anyone else besides me witness the most recent attack? I'm not referring to the attack itself, I'm referring to the death of the commander.

The character that killed the demon seemed… weird. He somehow gained control of the thing, and ordered it to die. It did. Is this a new skill, or is this guy a hacker?

Poster: Shadowblade

I've never heard of a 'control monsters' skill, and I've been playing for months now. I saw the guy kill a golem, he somehow jumped up onto the thing, and decapitated it with another odd skill. He shouted "Darkness explosion", and then some weird red goo entered the golem. About two seconds later, the thing exploded.

And I've never seen that character model before. I like to look at the character profiles of the high-leveled characters. Heck, I can tell you what Kite, Balmung, Orca, and other famous players look like… but this character is not one of them. The nonsense characters he had for a 'name'… it looks like this was a hacker. Because I'm positive I would have seen his character model before, but I haven't. And that tattoo he had is unique, only ten characters in The World have that 'Galaxy's Great Arms' tattoo. If he fairly won the event, like the player 'Cal', for example, did, he would be on the list.

That had to be a hacker.

Poster: Admin

Dear all users of The World:

The administrators of The World have reviewed the event in question, and the player described is now officially wanted for suspicion of cheating. Any player who has seen this character is advised to contact the game masters. State where you saw him, and at what time.

Information about the character will also be appreciated.

Thank you for playing The World.

Cal looked up from the sheet Elda had produced, a game copy of the board's commentary. He commented slowly, "Shit."

Elda shook her head with a sigh. "Well, what can you expect? You are using skills no one's heard of, and taking over that demon was a little over the top…"

Cal shot back darkly, "How was I to know I could do that? I'd woken up in prison for some reason, and when I broke out, there was an attack going on. I couldn't use a Chaos Gate until the damn event was over."

Elda nodded slowly. Cal looked down at the sheet again, which had a screenshot of his character. Oddly, his name was not 'Cal' (inwardly, he felt some pride in that he was mentioned as one of the holders of the Galaxy's Great Arms tattoo), but instead, was a string of gibberish characters. His character image was standing there, plain as day.

In other words, he was screwed if any more players showed up. Elda was risking a lot by interacting with him, since she could be charged with disruption of the game as well, but probably could plead ignorance, since she 'didn't read the boards'.

Suddenly, a cloak materialized in his hands, and he peered at the black garment, before looking up at Elda, saying softly, "Thanks."

Elda nodded. "No problem. I knew you'd need it. I found a few things during my research… this has happened before. CC corp files don't mention it, but one of the forums I'm in has logs of two times where players collapsed… playing this game. CC corp tried to hush up the events, but it didn't stop some people from finding out. One of them involves Kite."

Cal blinked, before asking, "The Kite? The guy that CC corp doesn't talk about, but has a unique skill that practically everyone knows about, though no one has seen it? He's supposed to be a 'dot hacker', whatever that means…"

Elda nodded. There was a brief silence, then a pinging noise split the air, and Elda looked over a piece of paper that had appeared in her hands. Cal peered over her shoulder, and then froze.

From: Helba

Title: To the one who hides the one

I have some information for you. I know you have spoken to the character who is making quite a reputation for himself on the boards. However, in return for my information about his condition, I would like you to give me his member address.

Elda turned, and looked at him. She said slowly, "Uhm…"

Cal blinked, then answered wryly, "Give her my address with a reply mail. Hell, tell her to come here. If she tries anything, I can always damage her character information, hacker or not. I'm not subject to the same rules she is."

Elda said in surprise, "Aren't you worried? I mean, if you die…"

Cal shook his head, then shrugged. "If I die, I die. It doesn't matter. I wasn't someone special back home anyway. Heck, I'm estranged from my family, so I wonder if anyone will figure out I'm gone."

Elda sighed. "Well, anyway, I'll contact her. She should be in the game to have sent that, so we should get a response soon."

Cal watched in interest, trying to see if he detected anything as she sent the message, but didn't. So apparently, his abilities had limits to them.

He shrugged philosophically, and leaned back. Elda waited a few seconds, then asked, "Uhm… about that tattoo on the right side of your face… that's legit, isn't it?"

Cal nodded slowly. "Yeah. I USED to be Cal, the same one mentioned in one of those posts."

"Wow… you're a famous character! I mean, I heard about how you… wait… shutting up now."

Cal chuckled quietly.


	4. Shadows of Balor, A Teen Titans Fanfic

A/N: Say hello to the third incarnation of 'Dark Titan'. I thought that a lot of people, when they made a hero, tended to use elements like fire, ice, or such. Darkness, however, doesn't seem to be defined as an 'element', so I took that, and crafted a hero who has a purpose in why he exists. The first incarnation had him be an albino, the second made him into a living shadow, and the current version is a mix of both, with his haunted past and 'sacrificed' voice. He'll eventually gain telepathy, if this story decides it's important enough. My muses are having a hard time with if they want to continue it, or not. It's got a lot of potential, but I just have rotten luck playing the hero. My hero muse isn't very well developed, and still needs time to work, I guess. Again, if you like, say so. Encouragement tends to help me write more, sad as it sounds.

Shadows of Balor:

A stranger entered the city. It was not much to comment on, besides the fact that he was practically the incarnation of 'black clothing', even going so far as to wearing a black fedora and trench coat.

The figure looked skyward, revealing a very pale face with sunshades on. Despite the fact that it was late at night, the apparently teenaged male still wore them. As well as a pair of black gloves, which became evident as he reached up to brush aside a strand of black hair off his face.

He continued to walk silently into the town, like a man on a mission. Though the populace who looked at him, and ignored him, might not have done so, had they recognized him.

For the same figure was one of many names, though he was best known by the name 'Shadow'. The wandering vigilantes Nightblade, Death's Shadow, the Dark Phantom, Black Ghost, and Shadow were all the same figure – the black-clothed one, who was vaguely looking up at the moon while he walked.

He wasn't an impressive figure, for all the infamy he had in some circles. His trench coat was tattered, and the fedora showed signs of heavy abuse. The clothing underneath was little better, the shirt had a hole the size of a bullet on the right breast, while the pants were frayed, put to more abuse than the manufacturers had intended. His limbs, however thin they appeared to be, were whipcords of toughened muscle, while his legs betrayed that his build was more of a runner's, since they had far more definition then his upper body.

Inwardly, 'Shadow' was not thinking of where he was. He was dwelling on the past, one that he had hardly any good memories of.

A Keeper of any element has a rough life. But a Darkness Keeper's life was especially difficult. For the Keeper channeled all the darkness of the planet Earth, keeping chained horrors that had come from hell, and were only kept at bay through their efforts. Sadly, 'Shadow' (for all that he hated the name) was particularly cursed. Most Keepers were unaware of their power, and lived normal lives, though their luck tended to be less than the average human's. He was the only fully awakened Darkness Keeper... and had awakened at a young age.

There were people on Earth who knew about the Keepers. Some satanic cults were interested in freeing the horrors that were sealed away, and attempted to manipulate the Keepers into freeing them. One such cult had found Shadow with his parents, and tried to kidnap him.

It was to his shame that his powers had reacted, triggered by his fear and panic. It had caused a mile-wide area to become covered by darkness, and anything within twenty meters of him had been vaporized.

His parents, sadly, had been within that distance, trying to save their child.

He had cast aside the name his parents had given him shortly after. His awakened powers had given him an adult's wisdom, even in a five year old's body. He did not set down roots, instead wandering from place to place on foot. Logically, it would take months to get from one place to another, but when one was a Darkness Keeper, a single step could cover thousands of miles. Shadowtraveling was a rarely-used trait, because only those who were closely tied to either darkness or shadows could use it.

Now, 'Shadow' was in Jump City. He had been curious after hearing about the Teen Titans, especially the one called Raven. Her powers struck him as… oddly similar to his own, so he had set his next destination to Jump. And his quest had brought him here as well…

The figure mouthed, 'Bah, I hate being called Shadow… I'm Balor, can't they accept that?'

The air did not respond, as Balor continued to walk through the city. He did however, jump in surprise as a wildly swerving car flew by him at somewhere around forty miles per hour. Balor watched it fly by, his abnormal eyes (which had a slightly Asian hint to them) narrowed.

He gestured, and the nearby streetlights flickered as the figure vanished.

Balor reappeared in the car, though the occupant couldn't know that, since he was invisible. He held up his left hand, which glowed blackly, then struck the driver, a vacant-eyed man in his late forties, causing the driver to slump.

Balor jumped into the seat, seemingly without moving a muscle, and grabbed the steering wheel, pulling the car into a empty space, and parking it clumsily. He then tried to pull out the keys, before the car made a protesting noise. The Darkness Keeper struck himself lightly on the head, then put the vehicle into 'Park', then removed the keys, carefully climbing around the drunkard, who was slumped in the driver's seat. As he did, his waist, part of his torso, and part of his upper legs became more than shadowy outlines, solidifying into solid matter.

The Keeper dropped the keys in a hard-to-reach area under the passenger's side seat, then exited the car from the passenger's side. After all, this wasn't the first time he'd done something like that.

Balor mouthed quietly, 'Damned drunk idiots…', before shaking his head, smiling slightly, and looking around for a dirt-cheap apartment that he could rent for a short while. He moved quietly through the slums, those that lived there leaving him alone, busy with their own business. Even the gangs ignored him, since it was fairly obvious he wasn't affiliated with a rival, and wasn't a rich mark to rob.

Eventually, he spotted an apartment complex. The building was slightly ramshackle, and run-down, but sound enough, and what's more, had a promising, 'room for rent' sign. With a slight smile, Balor stored the location in his memory, then drifted into a nearby ally, disappearing as he merged with the shadows.

He reappeared near the shoreline, in the shadow of the empty park that bordered the beach. With a silent smile, he walked onto the sands, and sat down on a fair-sized rock a good distance from the waves, and watched the waves roll in and out, occasionally looking up at the sky.

The life of a vigilante wasn't always chock-full of terror / heroism. Sometimes, one actually did get peace.

With a smile on his face, Balor's form dissolved into a shadowy shape that did not seem real, though it had silver-colored eyes that were real enough to persuade the eye otherwise. The shadow-shape remained still, just looking out at the bay, even as hours ticked by. It showed no signs of care when a few cars passed by on the 'scenic route' that ran near the shoreline.

The sun rising did trigger a reaction, however. Just as false dawn started to arrive, the shadow solidified into the same teenager who called himself Balor. He did not show a sign of stiffness as he rose, and stood, watching the sky change colors.

The sun rose, and finally Balor moved away from the beach, walking back toward the complex.

&&&&&

Balor waited for a few moments, then frowned, flicking his throat obviously.

The man who owned the building frowned, then said, "What, ya mute or something?"

Balor nodded, then pointed to the 'room for rent' sign. The man followed his gesture, then looked back at the teen, his eyes hidden by the sunshades. Frowning, he said, "It ain't much, but it's cheap for an apartment here. I don't pay for electric bills, and there's common washrooms."

Balor shrugged, then mouthed, 'How much?'

The man squinted, and after several repetitions, sighed. "Twenty less than the listed price on that sign per month. You got that much?"

Without a word, Balor dug into his pockets, and pulled out a wad of bills. He peeled off the requisite amount, then held up a month's worth of rent.

The man blinked, then led Balor inside, producing a sheet of paper and a pen, handing it to Balor. He skimmed it over, recognizing it was a standard thing, and filled out the relevant points, signing it with his old name, despite the fact that he hated to dishonor his parents like that.

The man looked over the paperwork, then nodded slightly. Balor placed the bills into the man's hand, and took the carbon copy of the paperwork, as well as several keys, looking at them quizzically.

"One of 'em's for the outside door, another for your room, the third for the bathrooms in here. Duplicate 'em, and I'll sue your ass, that's why they say 'do not duplicate'. Otherwise, don't make a racket, and…" the man paused, and said quietly, "don't make a rukus. Kid, this place ain't safe to stick your neck out in, you hear me?"

Balor turned, and nodded. He pulled out an empty key ring with a compass attached to it, and added the keys to it, before walking to his room, and unlocking the door. He walked inside, and then closed the door, locking it behind him.

The air was stale, and slightly dusty, but it did not reek. There was no bed or furniture, not that it mattered to him. Since the 'shades' the room had were shut (they were cheap plastic things that covered the window entirely, and seemed to be a hassle to move), the room was utterly dark.

Balor took off his shades, as blackened energy flowed out of his body, scouring the room. His eyes were… odd. They were a nearly-black grey throughout, with no signs of white in them. Nor was there signs of a pupil. The few people who had seen his eyes presumed he was blind, but in actuality, he wasn't. He could see in pitch black better than some birds could in the day. However, he could not see very well in the light (it blinded him, actually), so he shielded his eyes with powerful sunshades that turned the day into pitch-black night.

With a slight grin, Balor again became a shadow with grey eyes, stretching out on the floor, and for all intents and purposes, falling asleep.

The lock rattled a few times, but with the dark energy that flowed around the room, it did not respond to the picking attempts. After a few moments, the would-be thief moved on, giving the lock up as a bad job.

The shadow lacked lips, but it did radiate a slight sense of bemusement, though it was a sleeping bemusement.

Walking shadows:

It was a new day when the shadow spontaneously formed the teenager who called himself Balor. He'd 'slept' for about twenty two hours, though for him, it was not that unusual. His 'sleeping patterns', as they were, were so unusual, he did not even bother to call it a pattern at all. Instead, he just slept when he had spare time, and did not when he did not have the time.

Idly, he wondered, as his body fully reverted to 'quasi-human' state, if the Justice League functioned the same way. Though he doubted he'd ever find out… he never would be invited to those lofty levels.

He chuckled quietly, remembering. About two years back, when he was about… (Fifteen? Fourteen? He'd stopped counting), he worked with Batman. He'd stumbled onto the dark knight fighting some foes, and had intervened. His aid led to a scowled warning about 'not needing help', and then the figure disappearing.

Balor chuckled quietly. Batman hadn't complained a day later, when he'd popped out and started taking down members of Scarecrow's gang, while Batman fought off the madman. He'd even gotten a grudging 'thanks' from him. As well as a bit of media attention, apparently the place where they'd fought off Scarecrow was under video surveillance, and the media had gone mad with the possibility of Batman and an 'unknown accomplice', who was later dubbed 'Shadow', working together to help protect the city.

His Darkness-fueled powers had sort of suited the idea of a team-up, really, but it should have been obvious to them that the Dark Knight wanted to work alone again.

Well, maybe it had been obvious to him, because he could hear Batman telling him that, after the grudging thanks. To the media, who lacked the audio commentary, it hadn't been so.

Balor shrugged, and stepped out of his room, sunshades firmly over his eyes. He walked through the deserted and damaged walls, ignoring the group of younger teens who were talking on the stairs. Their conversation trailed off as he passed by, but picked up as soon as it became obvious that he didn't care.

After all, he had one thing on his mind, currently. He hadn't eaten anything in the last three days, so it was time to at least eat something.

He found a decent Mexican place soon enough, and sat down without a word to the hostess, who went back to the podium, looking bored. The place was mostly empty, so Balor guessed that ten thirty in the morning was dead hours, so far as the staff was concerned.

A bored waitress walked up, and asked, "What 'cha want to drink?"

Holding up the menu, he held his finger under 'Coke'. The waitress spotted his gesture, and read the words, then looked quizzically at the teen. "You mute or something?"

Balor smiled weakly, and nodded. It was a cost of being a Darkness Keeper. A shadow could not speak, after all… so why would a Keeper get that sort of luck, being able to speak? Well, a full-blown awoken one, like him, anyway. Though normally, one did not pay that price…

The waitress blinked, and then walked away after scribbling on her notepad. She returned a minute later, and Balor ordered via the same method (pointing to what he wanted), and after the waitress confirmed his intent, he was sitting in a mostly empty restaurant, nursing a caffeinated beverage that he hadn't had in a long time.

He sat there alone, even as another few people filed in, and were seated, until the waitress set down his order, a burrito of gigantic proportions, refried beans, and some Spanish rice.

Balor smiled in thanks (which the waitress noticed), then as she wandered off, viciously attacked his food. In less time than most people would assume it would take to eat such a large monstrosity, the burrito, rice, refried beans, and everything else was gone. He smiled absently, looking at the mostly-clean plate, and then drained his coke, patting his stomach. It grumbled slightly, before falling quiet.

The waitress returned about five minutes after he finished off his meal, and asked, "Would you like a dessert?"

Balor shook his head, and the waitress nodded slightly, pulling out the check. She set it down, and Balor looked it over, before shrugging, and reaching into his pocket. He paid the bill of about fifteen dollars in cash, and left another three as a tip.

He walked back outside, bouncing slightly with each step. The area outside was bright enough that the Darkness Keeper restrained the urge to growl. His pale skin started to look flushed in the direct sunlight, then suddenly darkened enough that instead of resembling an albino, he looked like a normal Caucasian. He raised his suddenly normal face to the sky, and mouthed a curse at the sun, before walking through the town.

After all, he needed something to do. A job hunt was one thing, knocking out any criminals he found would be a welcome distraction.

He continued to walk along the street, along with a crowd of other pedestrians. So far, he had not spotted any sort of establishment that would like to employ a mute in any capacity.

That was, until he spotted a man shooting bursts of light at something. He smiled darkly, mouthing, 'Ah good. I was getting bored.'

&&&&&

Doctor Light left the bank behind, a proud smirk on his face. He had disabled the security system, so those blasted Titans would not know he had hit the place until he was long gone, and disappeared into the crowd.

He couldn't help but shake at the horrors of the place that one had taken her to. But he still dashed away… until a… living shadow barred his path, by literally shooting a burst of darkness at him.

Dr. Light, needless to say, shielded himself. He eyed the figure warily, then gasped. It was the right height… it was covered in black… it had grey-glowing eyes…

"GYAHHHH!"

Panicking, he shot burst after burst of light at the figure, which evaded every attack, sometimes teleporting out of the way, other times just simply dodging. Up until it disappeared again, and did not reappear.

Dr. Light panted, then gasped as he felt a hand resting on his shoulder. He turned, and saw the black shadow standing before him.

The nightmares of what he had seen overrode his conscious mind, and he did the natural thing. He tried to run, but could not, nor could he fight.

He passed out finally, his body overstressed.

&&&&&

The shadow continued to burn darkly in the light, grey eyes looking down on the figure slumped before it, bags of money spilling out. A few brave nearby bystanders tried to get closer, but the figure would turn to… look at them… and none would dare get closer to the bizarre figure.

After another minute, however, the shadow suddenly wavered, and became a teenager dressed in black, his eyes obscured by sunshades. He still stood there, apparently waiting for something.

The bystanders stared.

However, the figure dressed in black didn't wait long, before five others arrived. They each arrived separately – one drove in a car, another a bike, and the other three flew (one by means of shapeshift). Each, however, was reduced to looking in bewilderment at the sight of a passed out Dr. Light, with a terrified expression on his face, and a black-dressed teenager of about five foot six height, standing over him, looking at them.

Finally, the teenager nodded slightly, and bowed to the five partially, before walking backwards several steps.

The Titans, taking it as a hint, approached. Cyborg looked over Dr. Light, checking his vitals, while three of the four approached the stranger.

The final member, dressed in a blue cloak, looked suspiciously at the teen, her violet eyes narrowed.

The green one was the first to speak, asking, "Hey, who are you?"

Balor shifted his head, then mouthed, 'Shadow'. Beast Boy, unable to read what Balor had 'said', blurted, "Huh?"

Robin frowned, however, and asked, "Shadow, huh? I think Batman mentioned you awhile ago…"

Balor nodded slightly, his lips moving, 'saying', 'He told me that he wanted to work alone, and didn't need help.'

Robin read what the teen said, and smirked. That sounded right. "Yeah, that proves you're who you say you are. Now what did you do to him?"

Beast Boy, frustrated, said, "Geez, are you reading his lips, Robin? I can't get a word he says!"

Robin deadpanned, "Yes, I am." He paused to read Balor's answer, and blinked, turning to look at Raven, before looking toward Cyborg. "Hey Cyborg, any signs of recent bruises?"

Cyborg looked up, and said slowly, "No, there isn't. It's like he passed out from fear or something. He wet himself, but I don't think that leads to passing out…"

Beast Boy broke out laughing, but Robin turned back to 'Shadow', and scowled slightly. "Nice trick. How'd you terrify him like that?"

Balor blinked, and then suddenly, a shadow-shape had replaced him. The shadow looked at the Boy Wonder with cool grey eyes, seemingly bored.

Raven, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes. Her thoughts were whirling around two possibilities – either her father had another child to his name (unlikely), or somehow, there was a fully awakened Darkness Keeper around who wasn't insane (which was even more unlikely).

Robin however, nodded slightly, and the shadow reverted to Balor, who mouthed 'I'm Balor, not Shadow. Ok?'

Robin read the words, and nodded slightly. First, they had to handle cleanup, and taking away Dr. Light's rebuilt suit. Then they could deal with Shadow/Balor.

&&&&&

It was later in the day, and the Titans had taken cover from the media by retreating to the island their tower was built on. When Robin had asked Balor if he needed a ride (since they wanted to ask a few questions about what he'd been up to), Balor had merely smiled, walked into a shadowed dead-end, and disappeared.

They'd found him at Titan's Tower, sitting in the shade, his back against the structure. Apparently, he'd been reading while they searched, he had crammed a large book into his pocket as they approached.

Robin turned to his teammates, who were starting to look irritated, and said, "Let me introduce him, since he's mute. This is Shadow… though he now goes by Balor, apparently." Balor waved, smiling faintly, though it was easy to tell he was not exactly comfortable with the attention.

Robin continued, "He's a fairly well-known vigilante, though he's a wandering one, never stays in one place for too long. About two years ago, he apparently took it upon himself to work with Batman, and helped him take down Scarecrow. Before and after that, he's popped up in practically every city in the world at one time or another." Balor rubbed the back of his head at that line, though he had to admit – it probably was true. For five years, while he practiced perfecting his powers (and grew up, since a five year old wasn't exactly a good body to fight in), he traveled from city to city, being a tourist, and seeing famed sights. He'd even visited every Disneyland in the world, a child's dream.

Robin turned to look at Balor, and then turned back, continuing, "Anyway, he's been 'in the business' for about five years, but he's always been mute. There's also some theories that other vigilantes who are rumored to have the same powers, like Black Ghost, might be him…" At the name, Balor jumped slightly, then winced, a guilty look on his face. Cyborg chuckled at his reaction, and said, "I think he just said that he is Black Ghost, Rob."

Robin turned, and at Balor's weak nod, shut his masked eyes. "Well, that's all I know about him…" he rubbed his eyes with a hand, after taking it out of the glove, and then asked as he opened his eyes, "Why are you here, anyway?"

Balor responded, 'Just traveling. I heard about your team, figured I might take a look, and smash a few baddies… sort of.'

Robin couldn't read a few words, but got the gist of it, and said slowly, "Huh."

Raven interrupted, asking directly, "Are you a Darkness Keeper, or does my father have another child to his name that I haven't heard about?"

Robin didn't look away from Balor, but the other three looked in surprise at Raven's almost hostile tone. Balor, on the other hand, answered silently, 'Darkness Keeper.'

Robin repeated, "He says he's a 'Darkness Keeper'. Raven, just what exactly is that?" He didn't look away from Balor, just in case the teenaged wandering vigilante wanted to add something, and listened while Raven explained, "Keepers are beings that channel… well, elemental powers. Darkness and light are two examples. Usually, the people that are keepers are not like him, they're in a state that is called 'unawakened', and they passively do the task the universe entrusted to them without any ill effects. If one is awakened however, they gain powers… a Flame Keeper would become a pyrokinetic, a Darkness Keeper would show the same powers Balor possesses. But they also loose something for their gain."

Balor hung his head, but not before he mouthed silently, 'Mom… Dad… I'm sorry…' Tears landed in the dirt, as the Keeper wept tears of onyx-like water, hugging his knees to his chest.

Robin's eyes reflected nothing, as if he hadn't read what Balor had said. The others, however, were asking Raven what the cost was, and she was keeping quiet. If they spotted his reaction, they didn't comment on it.

Balor finally lifted his head, and looked at Robin, mouthing, 'My eyes and my skin. That is the price I paid. I later destroyed my voice.'

Robin asked, "What about your eyes?"

The others fell silent from badgering Raven (which was for their health, since she looked about ready to explode), as Balor replied silently, still hugging his knees to his chest, 'Reverse the human norm of light and dark. In pitch black, my eyes are better than any human's…' He trailed off, then sealed his lips, and lifted his shades, his eyes shut, rubbing his closed eyes with his right hand, before lowering the sunshades again.

Robin blinked, then said, "He said his eyes were changed as part of the price, I think his albino condition is another part of it…" At Balor's nod, he continued, "He also mentioned that he… lost his voice? I couldn't read that word, Balor."

Balor repeated, 'Destroyed'

Robin leaned in close, and whispered, "Destroyed? You did that to yourself?"

Balor nodded, his posture glum. 'As punishment for my sins, yes. What I did is unforgivable.'

Robin's eyes narrowed at his answer. Raven, though unskilled at reading lips, could tell that something was weighing on the teenager's mind heavily – his reaction to the word 'price' was far beyond what would be normal. She too looked skeptically at the teenager.

The other three, however, looked overjoyed. Cyborg said, "Alright! Maybe you can hang out for a bit, and swap stories! Five years of experience means you must be a pro at this."

Balor embarrassedly rubbed the back of his neck, letting his knees down again. Starfire started to shout her rapid-fire questions at him, while Beast Boy shouted about how cool it would be to hang out with a famed hero, while Balor, at the center of the storm, sighed, and removed his shades, his eyes shut again.

Robin silenced his teammates with a shout of, "Guys, quiet", and asked, "Balor, why are you really here?"

Balor made a sighing sound, and mouthed, his eyes still shut, 'I am something of a feared hero, now. People are afraid of me, whenever they recognize me. I am the stormcrow that signals bad tidings, since I often force underground criminal activity into the light, and greater chaos for a time. I… I'm looking for a place to still be what I am, but not get looks of fear at the same time. I've spoken to several heroes in various cities, the Doom Patrol, and even tried to ask the Justice League if they might know of a location. I got the same answer… they had no idea. I came to ask the Titans if they know of such a place… and I was intrigued by Raven's powers.'

Robin blinked, his mind going back to the papers he read. A lot of articles, over the year and a half, were featuring 'Shadow' in a negative light, asking if he was really a hero, or if he had darker motives.

All heroes had gotten the same, ever since Hawk girl's… actions, against the Justice League. Robin had to admit, the Justice League was shattered by her actions. Even Batman was more reclusive than usual, and the League wasn't as far-spanning as it used to be. There had even been calls for repealing the Vigilante Protection Act unless it involved certain heroes and heroines, though those cries had been squashed somewhat effectively by the fact that the Justice League (the remainder of them) spoke against such an act.

Someone like 'Shadow', who was a dark hero at best, and unable to communicate, was an easy target for critics calling for the repeal. Robin remembered scowling in outrage at the description of one of the events that Shadow had taken part in – busting up a drug running group that had somehow managed to stay under everyone's radar. The media, rather than cheering, questioned his actions, stating that his brand of heroism was unwelcome.

He had shaken his head back then. Shadow did leave behind broken bones and bruises, but since he'd already heard, through the hero grapevine he still had, about what Shadow had really done… it had sickened and worried him.

Now, Robin bit the inside of his cheek, thinking. The Titans were in a precarious position. Terra's ghost had not been dispelled, it still haunted them. The people calling for repelling the Act viciously attacked the Titans for sheltering and training someone who later turned traitor, and helped Slade rule their city. If they sheltered Shadow, even for some time, there would be trouble. If it was known he was even operating in the same city they were, the same media hyperbole would attack the Titans and their credibility. Max Richfield, one of the leaders in the fight to destroy the Vigilante Protection Act, would probably sink his teeth into the issue, and drag them down into the pit the Outsiders worked in, these days.

The Titans could not survive something like that. They had a very visible headquarters… and if things went wrong, they could easily become 'fallen Titans'.

Cyborg, who must have been having the same thoughts Robin did, said, "Robin, if you're thinking about that bastard Richfield, forget about him. Do what's right, man."

Robin looked at Balor, who seemed to be looking at him knowingly, even with his eyes shut. He mouthed silently, 'I will leave, if you want me to'.

That decided him. He looked over at Raven, who gave him a Titan signal of 'I have no issues', and then the others. Starfire answered for the three, "I have heard about the suffering Sha… the Balor has suffered under. He does not seem deserving of such suffering, and I for one, desire to unburden him." She smiled slightly, and turned to Cyborg, asking, "I did say that correctly?"

Robin scowled at Cyborg for using Starfire against him, but said, "Balor? If you're willing to answer a few more questions, we might be able to find somewhere."

The teenager, still dressed in black, smiled. Unlike previously, it was a genuine smile, with only happiness motivating it. He mouthed quickly, 'I'm willing'.

The other Titans sat down, as Robin stretched for a moment. They knew when he started asking about a 'few' questions, it would take an hour at least. Still, they wanted to listen…

Raven listened for another reason. She had studied the Keepers, and one text had said it was impossible for a Darkness Keeper to remain sane, if awoken. The power they pulled was from Trigon, and several other evil sources, as well as innocent sources.

She leaned back, listening, part of her mind meditating on how it was possible. The first question Robin asked, however, jolted her out of her meditation.

"What was that about your parents. Balor… what happened to them?"

Balor looked sadly up at Robin (his eyes still shut), and then mouthed, 'I happened. I was being kidnapped by some people… a satanic cult, I found out later… and I awoke.' He sighed, and mouthed, 'The police said it was a bombing, but when I awoke, everything within a certain distance of me turned into ash. Including…' tears leaked through his shut eyes, visibly streaking down his face.

Robin said aloud, "He was about to be taken by some cult, and his power activated. Raven, what happens if someone's afraid when they awaken?"

Raven, her face disturbed, answered, "Whatever frightens them tends to be disintegrated, along with things in a certain radius. Why?"

Robin's expression was grim, as he said, "When he awoke, he was afraid. He disintegrated his kidnappers… and his parents were caught in the effect. He killed them, unintentionally."

Three gasps were the response, with Starfire looking in horror at the teen, who was curling into a ball again, his face buried in his knees, shaking.

Robin looked away from the shaking Balor, and at Raven. She slightly tilted her head, her eyes acquiring a distant look, and then responded in Titan code (which was composed of hand signs), 'He is not faking. I can feel the grief.'

Robin winced, his memories going back to his parents, before he shook himself out of it.

It took nearly ten minutes, but Balor recovered. He finally mouthed, 'That's why I call myself Balor. I ruin whatever I care about.'

Robin sighed, and rubbed his temples. No wonder 'Shadow' didn't fight against the negative press. He felt he deserved it, through his undealt-with guilt. That would make things difficult. Heroes with haunted pasts tended to go out in a 'blaze of glory', sacrificing their lives, sometimes gleefully, for some greater cause. Helping Balor to recover would take a lot of time and energy, assuming the other Titans were willing to have him, at the end of the questions. He knew, however, that Balor would be worth the effort. His abilities in stealth and disguise were famed, and his combat abilities…

Robin asked softly, "Is there anyone else that you are? Besides Shadow and Black Ghost?"

'Nightblade, Death's Shadow… the Dark Phantom'

Robin blinked at the first name, and was reduced to shock at the last. Nightblade had been a young teenager who used two black swords with supernatural agility… and the Dark Phantom had been reputed to be able to walk through walls, and launch energy blasts. "So you're Shadow, Black Ghost, Nightblade, Death's Shadow, and the Dark Phantom?"

Balor nodded slightly. He mouthed 'yes', but his eyes were still firmly shut, with the occasional onyx tear leaking out, and trailing down his face, leaving behind an obvious trail.

Robin inwardly whistled. His combat skills would make him useful in any fight… plus he could terrorize Dr. Light just by doing that 'shadow being' thing.

Robin offered him his hand, and said gently to the shaking teen, "Come on. I think you need a place to rest, and I don't mind if you crash here for the time being."

Balor opened his mouth to argue, then shut it again. He meekly followed the leader of the Teen Titans inside.

The choices we make:

The sun was rising on Titan Island, and one black-dressed teen in a ragged trench coat, with a fedora resting atop his head, giving him the look of a failed organized crime leader from the past. His knees were to his chest, and his face was twisted into a sad expression, with just a tinge of thoughts unreadable on it.

He had been out there for at least an hour, just sitting, looking off into the distance. He winced at the sunlight beating on him, but otherwise did not move at all, besides tilting his head so he was not looking directly at the sun.

A voice called out, "Couldn't sleep?" As Balor turned his head to look, Robin sat beside the ragged wanderer, looking out toward the rising sun.

Finally, the teen nodded, mouthing mutely, 'Merely sheltering me will cost you Titans, if the media finds out. Just tell me the location… I should move on.'

Robin sighed, having read the mute statement, and said, "You know, you sort of remind me of Cyborg, back before the Titans really formed. He was afraid of people… he thought he was a monster, a freak. The media didn't help, the few times he tried to be a hero, they crucified him."

Balor looked back out to sea, mouthing in response, 'He might not have deserved it… but I do…'

"Don't count on it." Robin flipped open his communicator, and said, "Cyborg, you up?"

Cybrog's voice came back, "Yeah, barely… hey, don't you dare make those tofu waffles! Even Raven's sick of them!"

Robin cut through Cyborg's indignant shouts, saying, "Could you come down here?"

There was a pause, then Cyborg answered, "Sure, Robin."

Balor remained quiet. He'd heard the whole conversation, but didn't care to know what the Titan leader was doing. He just wanted to find some place… some city where he could work, do his 'job', without the media and people crucifying him, or seeking to run him out.

Cyborg walked outside of the tower, and joined the two. Robin said aloud, "You hear the whole conversation?"

Cyborg nodded slightly. "I couldn't read his lips sometimes, but I got most of it. Dude, you're not the only one with a past. Beast Boy, Raven, Robin, me… we've all got trouble in our past. I'm not sure about Starfire, but she gets real quiet sometimes…"

Balor turned, and mouthed bitterly, 'You didn't kill your parents with your powers, did you?'

Cyborg shook his head. "No, I didn't. But awhile ago, I felt that I led them to their deaths." His human eye lost focus, as he said, "There was a lab accident. Some weird creature popped out from an experiment in progress – a test to make a teleportation device. It nearly killed me, up until my mother tried to save what little remained. My dad was already dead… the creature left me be, and went after her. Just after it killed her, it was taken out." Cyborg took a breath, and said, "If I'd died, she'd still be around. Hell, if I hadn't been so eager to see where my dad worked, I'd still be human, and have a mother. I'm responsible, in part, for my mother being dead. You see me calling myself a murderer?"

Balor looked up at Cyborg, his eyes blinking behind his sunshades. Slowly, he shook his head.

Cyborg continued, "It was an accident. You couldn't control your powers. Everyone on the team picked at Raven's knowledge, and even she'll admit that you had no control over what happened. It was an accident. I know this sounds like crap, but quit blaming yourself for it. Blame the cultists who were determined to use you for something. Blame the police for not stopping them, and knowing what they were planning. Just… not yourself."

Balor gave a bitter smile, and mouthed, 'Did you know that Darkness Keepers keep demons imprisoned? I didn't learn that myself, up until I invade the cult's headquarters, and... they were planning to tear open my heart, or something, and sacrifice it to some demon… if I just wasn't what I was…'

"Your mother was a Darkness Keeper, Balor. They would have come for her, if you hadn't existed. They'd both be dead anyway."

Balor looked in surprise at the two, then started to scowl. Robin cut him off, saying, "We asked Raven about it… she's positive it comes from the maternal line. If you're a Darkness Keeper, than so was she. And since you seemed to make it clear that they knew what you were, they had to know what your mother was. They just targeted you because you were easier to handle."

Balor looked away, toward the sun that was still rising with a red hue into the sky, his sunshades reflecting the red light. Finally, he nodded slightly, and slumped in his position.

Robin smiled unhappily. He'd only paid minor attention to team psychology before, but after Terra, he'd read quite a few works on psychology, hoping to help keep the team from shattering thanks to her.

It turned out it wasn't needed, but currently, it had been of use. He knew that eventually, the Teen Titans would bump into other teenaged superheroes with troubled pasts like Balor – what little aid he could offer, he would. It was the right thing to do, and one of the unwritten laws in hero code – you helped each other out in whatever way you could.

He turned to Cyborg, nodding slightly. The five of them had worked, while Balor slept, on what exactly to do with him. Starfire, bless her heart, had wanted to take him in immediately. Raven and Robin had been in favor of letting him work nearby, a 'test run', as it were, while Cyborg and Beast Boy wanted to let him at least crash at the tower for some time, even if they later would 'turn him loose'. Eventually, they'd compromised on Cyborg's idea, of letting him have a test run with the team, as a invisible wildcard, or a living shadow. 'Shadow', the infamous hero, was known to be pale skinned, and wore the clothing Balor wore, and fought with dark energy. But a living shadow… well, as Beast Boy had joked, for all the media knew, Negative Man had a little brother.

&&&&&&

It was the same day, though late at night, when the alarm sounded. Robin looked toward Balor, who had been in something like a state of shock since he'd offered (and the teenager had only reluctantly accepted, after repeatedly warning them that it was a bad idea). Balor caught the gaze, and nodded slightly, becoming a living shadow with grey eyes, before flickering out of sight, and back into sight.

Robin scanned the map, and called, "Fourteenth street bank, the one Mumbo likes to hit a lot. Balor, you teleport nearby, and stay in the shadows. I'll call if we need a hand, otherwise stay out of it." Balor nodded, and disappeared with a burst of shadow-energy, the air where he had been glowing blackly for a moment, before the glow faded. Robin turned to the others, and said, "We're not pulling any punches. Titans, go!"

The Titans scrambled, Beast Boy muttering under his breath how it might have been better for Balor to teleport them all to the bank, before he changed into a falcon, and flew out the window, trailing after the girls.

Cyborg called to Robin as the two of them raced to their signature vehicles, "BB's got a point, Robin. If he can teleport us to places, we'd cut down on response time. You know how much crap we're getting for that."

Robin nodded tensely, and said as he put on his helmet, "I'm aware of that. But explaining that to people would be tricky. Raven's admitted that her range for group teleportation is limited, while Balor's seems to be unlimited." He kicked his bike into motion, leading the T-car into the city, and continued, "If people started to wonder…"

Cyborg responded over the communication link, "I gotcha, Robin. Worst comes to worse, Balor moves on again. You know of anywhere he hasn't been, where there isn't negative press?"

Robin responded grimly, "Nowhere in America or Europe… wait a second…"

"Yeah, it's awfully convenient, isn't it? That a guy like that is targeted on an international scale. Something's going down around him, something he has no clue about."

Robin scowled. It felt like something the Question would be obsessed about, not him… but Cyborg was right. The whole thing reeked of a conspiracy. In every major country, at least one media source targeted Shadow, blaming him.

Mentally, he made a note to talk to Batman and see if he could get a word to the Question, assuming he wanted to be found.

He pulled up at the bank, and frowned. Rather than it being Mumbo, or one of the usual suspects, it was Fang, his spider-legs covered in jewelry. Probably for Kitten…

"Freeze, Fang!"

&&&&&

Balor watched from a nearby rooftop, his powers weaving a darkness around his body that caused light to weave around his body, making it seem like he wasn't there at all. It was a draining skill normally, but over the last year, he'd had a great many reasons to practice it, and his body was so used to the effects now, he did not even feel the tiring effect.

His eyes could not see the fight, but he could 'see' their shadows, as they fought. He watched Fang dodge blows from Cyborg's cannon, and cause the misfire to strike Beast Boy. He saw Raven strike at Fang with telekinetically moved objects, some of which connected, but were shaken off.

He watched as Robin hit the mutant with a blow that would knock out a normal human, that the mutant shook off with apparent ease, and the carefully controlled fight the Titans had planned out break into a free-for-all. Cyborg was hit with webbing, and had to be freed by Raven…

Robin, frustrated, growled, "I guess we don't have an alternative…" A burst of black energy cut him off, as it flew by his ear, and struck Fang right in the eyes. The mutant hissed, then drunkenly whirled, shouting about how he was going to 'gut the bitch who did that'. Robin turned toward the source… oddly, it looked like Balor was thinking ahead, he'd fired that shot from beside Raven, and she had her hand up, like it was her doing, though the look on her face betrayed that it was not… until a odd heat-blur vanished, and Raven lowered her hand.

Beast Boy, laughing, rushed forward, and pinned Fang. Raven tied his legs together before he could react, and then Cyborg finished him off with a knockout round from his sonic cannon, that was rated for only short range.

Robin, thinking fast, turned to Raven, and said, "Nice work in covering his eyes like that."

Raven's eyes flicked to the bystanders who were watching, and could obviously hear what Robin said, before nodding her hooded head. She was rubbing her left arm, the one that Balor had lifted to pull off his illusion of her increased powers.

Cyborg finished slapping on restraints onto Fang, and then waved to the special unit that handled the foes the Titans dealt with. The officers took Fang's limp body, and put him into the transport vehicle bound for the prison.

The Titans remained for a minute on the scene, talking to the officials, before departing. A heat-shimmer that had been on a nearby roof vanished, just as they rode / flew off.

&&&&&

The Titans watched the news. Thankfully, Max Richfield, other than making his usual complaints, hadn't said anything new. There were a few theories about how Raven, who usually displayed telekinetic power, somehow blinded Fang with no major harm, but that was the limit.

Beast Boy was the first to breath a sigh of relief, and said thankfully to the black-dressed figure who was sitting alone on a nearby couch, "Thanks for the save. I hate fighting Fang, the guy creeps me out."

Balor looked over at Beast Boy, arched an eyebrow, then visibly shuddered. Beast Boy laughed, and said, "I guess you don't like him much either."

At Balor's nod, he chuckled weakly.

Robin, who was flicking through other broadcasts, finally said, without looking away from the TV, "Nice thinking. Of all of us, people would believe Raven would be the source of something like that."

Raven muttered, "Glad to be of service…", and shot a look at Balor. The teen rubbed his black-gloved hand against the back of his head, trying to look apologetic.

Cyborg, who had apparently picked up enough lip-reading and body language, said, "Relax, Raven. He just was trying to keep invisible. Those darkness-beams of his are kinds visible in open daylight."

Raven blinked, then remained silent. Balor mouthed a comment, and Cyborg added, "You got a point, there. We will have to be careful about the media… you seem to be a lightning rod for bad news."

Balor winced, but nodded. He stood, and started to walk away from the room.

Robin called out, "Where are you headed?"

Balor paused, and turned, mouthing, 'out.'

After a moment, Robin tossed him a circular device with a T logo on it. Balor caught the device, looked at it for a moment, before looking up at Robin, his mouth hanging open.

Robin said calmly, "Keep that on you, alright? I just want to make sure you can contact us, if anything happens."

Balor mouthed silently, then shrugged, tapping on the device a short signal that made Robin nod slightly, saying, "I know. I heard about that one ship that had a passed-out crew of Taliban gunners."

Balor rubbed the back of his head, and walked away. Starfire was the first to ask, "What was that about gunners of the Taliban?"

Robin smiled weakly, and said, "They're criminals who murder for money, sort of. Balor took out a ship full of them once, awhile back. It was about that time when the negative media on him started, actually."

"Balor… has he made many enemies? Perhaps they wish to… what is the Earth word… destroy his hope?"

Cyborg corrected, "Break his spirit. It sounds right, the dude seems to be barely hanging on. If they're trying to get him to kill himself, or quit, they're just an inch short of that happening. It seems like all he has is that one hope of being able to settle somewhere."

Starfire gained an expression that shocked most the titans – she looked furious. In a quiet tone, she said, "This is unacceptable."

Robin added, "Yeah, it is. Someone's planning something. And if what Balor said is true, they could be trying to free the demons that he and others like him keep chained up."

Raven gasped, and shivered. At her outburst, the four Titans turned to stare at her. Raven lowered her hood, and said, "We don't want that. Believe me. Some of the demons that I have read about, that are restrained by Keepers, make even Slade look like a… fuzzy teddy bear by comparison."

Robin went back to his channel-surfing, and stopped on one special edition show. On it was the likeness of Shadow in the background, though he looked far more ominous.

The man who was speaking continued, "… and this Shadow, no matter how many time we attempt to speak with him, refuses to say a word. It is practically assured that he has something to hide. His obviously dark powers are clues enough."

Another voice, probably the anchor's, interjected, "But Mr. Richfield, what about others with similar so-called 'dark powers' and natures? Raven, of the Teen Titans comes to mind, as does Batman and Negative Man. Are you suggesting that these two are also pawns of dark powers?"

Richfield, a slightly obese man with a full head of blond hair, responded, "Batman is a man. He relies on technological devices he gets from some source to do his work. There's no 'powers' there that no other human, with training, couldn't duplicate. Your other examples, though, make me wonder. We don't know anything of Raven, except what little the Titans release about her. The dark aura that surrounds the things she levitates seems to suggest that there is SOMETHING dark about her. The recent fight with 'Fang', as the individual calls himself, shows that. And we all know of Negative man's personality, he could easily fall to the very evil he fights against… he could even be working against his teammates now."

The anchor waited a moment, apparently to check if Richfield was done, before asking, "Some have suggested that Shadow is mute, and therefore, logically unable to speak a word. Why do you discount this possibility?"

Richfield seemed to lean back, his features becoming unbearably smug to the Titans, most of whom would almost be happy to hear of his 'fatal death by criminal elements'. "Those that are mute learn sign language to communicate with others. Shadow has yet to even try to communicate besides using handwritten notes. There is nothing to trust about a child who has enough power to do what even a full team of military elite cannot. I am referring to the 'jugaries' incident…"

Robin clicked off the TV, and made a fist. His joints cracked from the motion, as he scowled. "I am really getting sick of that man."

Beast Boy added un-amusedly, "Yeah. He drags us through hell, then when heroes give up because of the crap he puts them through, he blames them for not coming to the rescue."

Balor, who was standing behind the door, weakly smiled, before disappearing in a burst of darkness.

He reappeared in a tiny corner that was full of shadows. After a brief look around, he turned invisible, and wandered the streets of Jump city, a unseen shadow among the populace.

One that idly crushed a pickpocket's hand as he tried to slip his hand into an unsuspecting woman's purse, not that anyone noticed, besides the unfortunate pickpocket. Otherwise, the shadow continued to walk along the streets. No one noticed that the shadows of the city were behaving oddly, tilting slightly off the angle they should have been.

Shadows of Twilight:

The Titans exchanged a look, then Robin said softly to the empty air, "Balor? Can you do an area of effect burst of darkness that blinds people?"

Robin felt a hand resting on his shoulder, and then his head jerked slightly downward. Knowing that was a 'yes', he muttered quietly, "Do it. Try to leave the hostages out of it, Richfield's taking an interest in us again…" Robin scowled at the last line he had to say. As much as he hated to admit it, the media could break the Titans if they turned on them. People, no matter how good hearted, would listen to others voice doubts…

Robin felt the unseen hand vanish, and Cyborg called out, "Alright, we're listening."

"First, you freaks get… gyah!" A burst of blackness burst from the center of the building, the museum that was displaying a large amount of gold artifacts.

The Titans rushed in, and found a shadow, Balor, centered in the middle of the hostages, giving off a black aura, a shield made of what looked like onyx in his arms, protecting them. How he held the massive thing (which was large enough that it scraped the ceiling when he fully raised it) was hard to say, but probably related to his powers. The criminals, blinded, were shouting at each other, and one was firing rounds towards the hostages, which Balor was busily blocking with his huge shadow-shield. Raven wordlessly joined him, projecting a spherical shield of her own, which surrounded the grouped hostages.

The Titans wordlessly launched themselves at the criminals, knocking them out swiftly. The leader fell last, and then there was a dead silence, except for a crying child, who was sobbing into her mother's stomach.

Robin joined Balor, who was still standing in the middle of the hostages, his shield shrunk down to a moderate size, but still at the ready. Raven was helping people up, though the Titan leader could tell she was also watching for any signs of movement.

Robin leaned down to help up a few people get to their feet, and turned to Balor, saying, "Thanks for that."

Balor nodded slightly, then his shield evaporated into a small bit of black smoke, before the smoke disappeared as well. The humanoid flickered, before walking over to the leader, and crossing black-burning arms. Finally, it looked up, and produced a slip of paper, which it handed to Cyborg.

Cyborg skimmed over the note, then his eyes went distant. The note read 'This one is familiar. Check the wanted warrants.' After a few moments of searching, Cyborg said, "Uh, Robin? This guy's on the FBI's ten most wanted. Sammy Georgiou. I think we'd better alert the feds."

Robin looked over, and nodded. "I thought he looked familiar. Cyborg?"

"Already on it, dog." He tapped his arm, then started speaking aloud.

Law enforcement, which had served as containment, entered, and started carrying out unconscious bodies. Cyborg said to the pair who were carrying the leader, his conversation with whoever it was over, "The feds are going to want this guy."

One looked down, and swore. "Sammy the gun? Son of a bitch... how the hell did he end up here?"

The other nudged the speaker silent, and the two slapped on more restraints after searching him thoroughly, and carrying the slumped figure out, with two more officers at a distance, keeping an eye on the figure.

The Titans did a check (via Raven and Balor's talents) for any more criminals in the building. Raven came up negative for life, though she did detect a few suspicious areas, which was confirmed when Balor passed another note to Raven. 'I spotted a few corpses. It looked like the security got killed.'

Raven read over the note, then frowned, looking at Balor. The shadow-human nodded, eyes looking saddened, for all their unemotional hue, and Raven called out to the officers, "There are a few victims. Check over by the security office, and one in the ancient Egypt exhibit. I don't think they're alive."

Without a word, the handful of officers remaining sprinted away. Balor, still looking saddened, disappeared without a sound.

&&&&&

Robin, along with Balor and Cyborg, were scanning news shows. Cyborg loved to watch 'reruns' of their battles, but this time, they were checking the public opinion.

One show finally came on, as the reporter said, "The Titans apprehended Sammy Georgiou, one of the FBI's most wanted men for murder, arson, grand larceny, and many other crimes, with the aid of a newcomer vigilante. We go now to Beth Anne Williams for more…"

The scene shifted, and a woman with dark brown hair was standing in front of the same museum that the events had occurred at. Police presence was still there, as were the 'crime scene – do no cross' tapes. Beth Anne said to the camera, "According to witnesses, the newcomer, who has yet to be identified, appeared in the National History Museum, and disabled the criminals who were holding hostage about twenty people. Strangely, the vigilante was described as being a living shadow with grey eyes. It apparently held off the criminals, who were firing blindly, until the Titans intervened, and disabled the men…"

A few eyewitnesses spoke, and then the view shifted back to the newsroom, where the reporter continued, "The Titans, when contacted, provided this response: 'The being we worked with, who goes by the name 'Balor', introduced himself to us earlier in the week, seeking our aid. He joined in our efforts at the museum at his own free will, and was the source of the disruption, as well as protecting the hostages.'" The reporter paused, and continued, "The Titans made no further comment about this 'Balor', nor did they state WHAT he is."

Balor turned to Robin, and mouthed, 'Robin, you know, my name might cause a bit of trouble… Balor of the Evil Eye…'

Robin nodded slightly. "I know. Raven told me about the mythology. Stop worrying, that's my job."

Cyborg snickered, but remained silent. That was, until the news show changed abruptly to wrestling.

Balor looked at the TV for a moment, then disappeared without a sign he was ever there.

Cyborg blinked, and asked Robin, "What did he leave for?" It turned out he was talking to empty air, Robin had already left the room.

Cyborg rubbed his head, and mused aloud, "Ah… what do they know."

The other Titans were scattered throughout the tower. Robin was walking to the gym, muttering to himself. Beast Boy was in his room, pounding away at a computer game, and cursing about some 'cheatingist AIs'. Raven, in her darkened room, was reading a horror novel, while Starfire was listening to boy bands (of the Earth variety).

Balor… was in the basement of the tower. Actually, relatively speaking, he was below that, in the foundations. His trench coat was blowing slightly in an unfelt wind, as his body became less and less visible, before becoming a pure black shadow.

It seemed to look about, before transforming back into human shape. Balor, though, had a large scythe in his hands, and was swinging it around with ease born of practice. After a short duel with a non-existent opponent, the scythe dissolved, and instead formed a pair of jet-black rapiers with lethal cutting edges. He studied the blades for a moment, then started something akin to a dance, blade slicing through the air.

&&&&&

Balor walked into the Titan common room, and blinked in surprise, before shaking his head and walking to the fridge.

Raven, who was sitting on the couch, reading a book, called out, "You don't want to do that…"

The teen either didn't hear her, or ignored her, and opened it. Blue fungus flowed out of the fridge… and then abruptly glowed black, flying back into the fridge. Balor turned to Raven, her hand extended, as she said, "I warned you. Don't go in there."

He nodded slightly, then kicked the shut door. There was a laughing sound, and Beast Boy fell from the ceiling, before changing into a hummingbird, righting himself, and set down before he changed back, pointing his finger at Balor and laughing.


	5. The ways of the Heart, KH fanfic

This is a KH story. The main character can't use a keyblade. He's a summoner, in the sense that anything he wants, he can summon... even fireballs. A bit odd, I know, but it was fun while it lasted.

Introduction:

Everyone has a balance of creation, destruction, evil, and good, right? Well, supposedly. I've always been unbalanced, but that's because of my occupation. If you're a summoner, you can't be that destructive. Otherwise, all you can summon is demons.

But this tale isn't about me. It's about… a keyblade wielder. And before you ask, yes, it's during Sora's time. She never went to Kingdom Hearts, however.

But she still saved the worlds – or helped Sora save them, I honestly don't know. But it came at a great cost… I'm not sure if it was a great cost to her, but I paid a harsh price for her success.

Unknown rescuer

"Oh…"

_Where am I? What happened? Who… who am I?_

The darkness lifted, and the teen began to remember. She remembered a large… demon made of shadows, with a crest on it. Then… liquid darkness.

"Her soul will be mine, summoner! Do not interfere!"

"Fuck you, cockbreath."

The teen's eyes flashed open… to the battle. A grim looking teenager was standing between her and a large shape… with a HUGE ax. All he held was a pair of shortswords, and what looked like gem-studded leather armor was his only protection.

The teenaged girl shuddered. There was no way the grim one could defend her, and she couldn't do anything but watch.

Besides, she wasn't sure which one was worse. He might be human… but so had that demon, at first glance.

&&&&&

&&&&&

We stood on opposite sides. I flashingly remembered FLCL's intro of Kanti – same thing. Showdown, two opponents facing off, the onlooker unsure of who's good or bad.

Well, except for the fact that I'm no noble hero. Sarcastic-looking face, basically black hair that's permanently mussed up (and never arranged the same way twice), cynic, pessimist, doom and gloomy… I'm no hero.

But the demon charged, interrupting my thoughts. I sighed, and held the twin swords together, forming a massive blade of light that would make Cloud envious – the damn thing was THAT big.

I countered the demon's strike (and made it jump fairly far back), then narrowed my eyes. Beams of energy surrounded the demon (nothing painful, they're just side effects that I could never figure out WHY they appear), and then a massive burst of energy came from the fused swords as I swung it at the demon, deep frying the thing before it became only separate atoms. The attack always reminded me of a aerial Wind Scar, except the energy was pure white, no yellow.

All this took only five seconds. I shook my head, and growled "Fucker. Goddamn motherfucking cockwhore cuntbreath piece of shit. Fucking hell, why don't they just save their time and mine?"

I turned to the girl – well, young woman would probably be more correct, but don't give me that political B.S. She looks to be a year or so younger than me, and I doubt she's gone through years of fighting demons. So she's a girl.

She had curly red/brown hair that looked short, but probably went to her back when it was fully stretched, an open face (slightly crooked nose, she'd probably gotten hit there), darker skin than I have (Caucasian, but maybe she's got a darker ancestor – not like that's bad, or anything), probably a bit shorter than I am… and, well… shapely. She was dressed in some formal deep blue dress-thing (don't ask me, I don't know fashion) that looked inconvenient to move in. It also was ripped and torn in several places (and a few rather embarrassing places)… she must have been in some kind of fight. I think her eyes are grey, but I couldn't tell from the distance.

Great. Just great. I finally rescue a girl, and she reminds me of Mich. Well, not in dress style, but in appearance. Bleargh, so much for that…

I sighed, and defused the blades by locking my two hands together, then pulling them apart. The blade of energy disappeared, and the Fusion Blades came back into existence. Before, all that had remained of them was the basic design on the hilt of the sword. I twirled the blades for a moment, and then slid them into their sheaths on my back.

I waited for the panic in her eyes to recede a little, and then asked carefully "you alright?"

&&&&&

&&&&&

"I'm… awake. Who… you?"

She could see the dark-eyed boy partially smirk (it flashed for a moment, but he suppressed it quickly), then nod. "The name's Sandstone."

"That's… no… name."

His eyebrow arched, and he smiled. Faintly, but she could see it. And it wasn't a smirk, it was more like a sad, knowing smile. He was dressed in something that looked like armor (and was colored gold – it looked like leather). His hair was short cut, practically black, and standing up in a way that made it look like he'd just jumped out of bed. "Well… my real name died a while ago. Sandstone is who I am, like it or not. Kid, I got to warn you, it's a bad idea to sleep without a weapon like that. If I hadn't seen that demon rushing here, you'd be dead at least by now."

She tried to get up, but fell over. But she was cradled in his arms, somehow he'd caught her. "I… just passed out." She fought down her panic – he could have killed her by now if he wanted too, and he hadn't. And he wasn't pawing over her… so it looked like he wasn't interested in rape, thank… thank something.

She gasped weakly, and said "Mom… dad… that monster…"

He arched an eyebrow at her. "Monster?"

"All black… with some weird image on it's chest…"

Sandstone cut her off, saying quickly, "Black, weird heart-shape with an X through it somewhere on it? Like an emblem?"

She blinked, and looked at his face. His eyes were narrowed. It looked like he was contemplating murder. She could only work up enough nerve for a nod, then looked away. She could feel heat pouring from his body – she knew it was raw hate somehow.

But a light in her heart made the fear miniscule.

&&&&&

When she looked back at her quasi-rescuer, his murderous look had faded. Instead, he just looked tired. He said weakly "can you walk? I can't afford to heal you right now, my reserves are too taxed from… previous events."

She nodded weakly, and tried to sit up on her own. But she failed, and he caught her again. "I don't know if I can walk… or stand. I'm too tired… the darkness…"

Sandstone chuckled. "Yeah, it takes it out of you." He lifted her in his arms, carrying her somehow. She started to fight him, but an inner voice (a sweet female voice) said to her "Don't fight him, he won't harm you."

She looked around, but no one was there besides Sandstone. She sighed, and stopped fighting. He didn't seem to notice that she HAD tried to fight, she really had been weak.

&&&&&

She blushed when she felt his hand touch her breast for a moment, but it didn't seem intentional. "Watch it!"

Sandstone looked down at her, then blinked once, his face loosing all intent, all it's raw emotions, becoming blank. He was handsome… when he wasn't enraged, or had a sarcastic arch to his face (he probably did that on purpose). His face reddened for a moment, then he nodded. "Sorry, but it'll happen. I'll try to watch it… but believe me, I'm not a pervert."

She gave him a look that said "yea, right," and he chuckled again. "Believe it. This place has far worse lechers, perverts, and pedophiles."

"Oww…"

"You'll heal. Once I have a few day's rest, if you're not fully healed, I'll call a cure materia."

She looked at him, confused. "Huh?"

He grinned at her, but she couldn't tell what was so funny. "It's a… thing that lets me cast curative magics. Hey, uh… you never told me your name…"

She blinked, and then passed out. She was just too tired from everything to stay awake anymore.

&&&&&

&&&&&

I sighed softly. She'd passed out somehow. That was either a bad sign, or sort of good news.

But I'm a pessimist, I was worried about her. She could be bleeding internally, and I'd never know. I'm no healer, and she could very well need one. And I couldn't summon even a weak materia, I was too tired spiritually to try. I'd need a couplea day's worth of rest to do something like call a decent Cure materia.

I sighed, and set her down on the ground. Once that was done, I dug through my armor and possessions for one of the few scrolls that I had remaining. Once I managed to FIND the damn thing (that took awhile), I touched her right shoulder, and squeezed my left hand into a fist, crushing the scroll, and activating it.

Rings of purple descended around me, and a purple X formed under me. This was Teleportation, a Conveyance Magik of higher power.

It also was cheaper to summon the scroll because it had adverse effects on certain things, but that wouldn't be a problem here.

The light from the rings became blinding.

Healing Myra:

-----------------------

When I blinked away the purple blindness, I looked around at the village.

We'd warped back to the central village, Kaede's village. Well, I called it that. It was basically my base of operations. I came here to re-supply, regroup, and rest here.

And I got into brawls with Inuyasha when Kagome went home, but she didn't have to know that. Just because I beat Inuyasha with the Guilt Legion, he's been taking it personally ever since.

Even the threat of Kagome Sitting him isn't enough. He's the same with Koga, though. Dunno WHY he resents me so much, but he does. I'm NOT interested in Kagome… I actually kind of hope that they'll get together.

I sighed, and walked towards the elderly priestess's house / hut. Several villagers were whispering to each other, and I honestly knew what it was about. They distrusted me – I was unknown, and worse, a round eye. Small surprise, they gossiped about where I could have come from, and made up rumors about me.

I know where I came from, and I know about the rumors. But I don't care, I'm not bothering. It'd cost me too much energy, and I'd be tempted to unleash Bahamut Zero or Knights of the Round on them before I was done. Even if I don't have those summon materia (yet), given a week's worth of rest, I could call one of them. Or I just could call them the hard way, and then sleep for a week… Or given an Elixer that I didn't summon myself, because those don't work on me for some reason, though they work fine for everyone else.

Lost in my thoughts, I reached Kaede's place, and nearly passed it. I stopped in time, and then walked inside.

Kaede wasn't around, so I set her down (I still don't know her name…), and then sat down on a wall, resting. Damn it, using the Disintegration Wave is draining, even if you have Danteig's Fusion Blades. I take it back… you can only use the Disintegration Wave with those blades anyway.

&&&&&

I sighed, thinking about the Cure materia. Kagome had the orb I'd previously used. And I was close to mastering that thing…

I sighed, and heard footsteps approaching. Kaede walked in, then looked at the sleeping form in worry. "Sandstone! Where did ye find her?"

I shrugged. "Middle of nowhere. Dunno how she got here, but she sure as heck isn't FROM here. Her aura's off."

Kaede gave me a look, and I grinned guiltily. I might only be a summoner, but I qualified for becoming a master / grand summoner. I could tell auras just by a glance (trust me, it's a talent a good summoner needs), and summon anything without any grandiose summon aids. Just sleep, and energy. Eventually, Kaede went to her side, and began to tend to her. After a minute's worth of examining, she looked back over to me. "She is not gravely injured, but these wounds will take time to heal."

I nodded, and then glanced at the door. I could almost sense Kaede's nod, and I just walked out. "Let me know when she's awake. I want to ask her a few things." Once she was done tending to whoever she was, I could come back in.

I'm no Miroku, trying to womanize every free female. Bleargh, I never got along with him. Heck, I was tempted to show him how Infrit looks when pissed off. And he was worried when I called Guilt, for crying out loud.

Guilt isn't the most powerful Legion of Chaos.

&&&&&

&&&&&

"She is not gravely injured, but these wounds will take time to heal."

"Let me know when she's awake. I want to ask her a few things." Very soft footfalls were heard. She guessed that Sandstone had just walked out – and from the sounds of it, he wasn't stopping by the door. Though he walked so softly, she couldn't tell very well.

The older voice – the one that sounded elderly, she could hear talking quietly – apparently to herself.

She moaned softly, and opened her eyes. "Ah child, ye be awake. What is your name?"

"Myra. My name is Myra… Myra…"

The woman's one eye widened. "Child, can ye not remember your full name? Your family name?"

Myra shook her head slowly. "No, I can't. I can hardly remember home at all."

"Strange…"

"Huh?"

"The… summoner who rescued you… he says that he came not from here at all, but from another world. He says that ye too are from another world as well… Can ye not remember?"

Myra concentrated for a moment, and then shook her head. All she got was the image of a man and a woman, smiling at her, standing next to each other. "I remember Mom and Dad… their looks… but nothing else." She didn't know how those people were her parents, but she just knew.

Her look of concern faded slightly. "That is something. But let me tend to your wounds."

Myra nodded, and tried to help as she could. She hated being a burden on anyone – though how she knew that was beyond her. "What's your name?"

"My name be Kaede. I am a priestess."

&&&&&

&&&&&

I half-slept while I waited. It's a gift I've developed to recharge energy, while I have to wait around. Energy, energy… it's all about that, when you rely on my brand of summoning. Even though I have no clue as to what it is, I've gotten a feel for it.

Eventually, Kaede walked out. I glanced at her, and she nodded to me. "She is sleeping, but will be fine."

I blushed, and weakly said "what's her name?"

Kaede gave me a confused look, but then shook her head. "Myra."

A heartless popped up, but Kaede just shot it with an arrow, and I finished it off with the Fusion Blades in their normal form. "I sense that these pests shall attack us more. Ye will have to guard her."

&&&&&

I sat next to Myra, waiting for her to wake up. She'd been asleep for nearly a day now. I'd had at least thirty heartless try to go after her. Key word, try. But I was getting irritated with this. "Come on, no comas now. Trust me, those are absolutely no fun to wake up from. Besides, I don't like guard duty."

As if she heard me, she groaned softly, and showed signs of waking. I smiled to myself, and backed a few feet away (accidentally running into a wall). My ugly mug isn't something people want to see when they're just waking up.

&&&&&

&&&&&

Myra felt warm and cozy, she was reluctant to open her eyes. Eventually she did, and gasped the moment she managed to blink her eyes into focus. This was someone's house! She started to panic, worrying about what was going on. Her mental fogginess disappeared quickly.

A cough caught her attention, and she quickly glanced over to her right side. The guy who'd saved her (Sandstone?) was sitting nearby, resting his back on the wall.

That brought back her memories of what happened. Sandstone rescuing her from that monster, Kaede… this was her house.

She must have shown signs of realizing what was going on, because he was grinning at her slightly. "You know, it's generally a bad idea to sleep for most of a day. You miss things."

Myra cocked an eyebrow, confused. He just grinned, and then shook his head. "Jeez Myra, you draw a LOT of heartless to you. What did you DO to them, already?"

Myra said hesitantly (assuming those black things were heartless), "I… just defended myself. They attacked home, I fought back."

Sandstone chuckled. "Well done, you did better than I did."

Myra blinked. He was from somewhere else too? "You're from…"

Sandstone shrugged, then said, "Chicago." Myra blinked – she'd never heard of it. Sandstone studied her face for a moment, then grinned at her. "I take it you've never heard of the place. Don't worry, we're from different worlds. It's just a large city with over a million inhabitants."

Myra felt her jaw drop. "One… million… people?"

Sandstone shrugged, then rubbed the back of his head. She sensed an 'aw, shucks' in his actions. "Well, I know that there were a lot of people, probably more than one million. I never paid any attention to census information, besides the fact that the city was more than a square mile's worth of land."

Myra blinked, trying to understand what he was talking about. "What's a mile?"

&&&&&

&&&&&

I sighed. If this was an anime, I'd be facefaulting about now. "A long distance." I shrugged again, wishing I'd kept my mouth shut. "Well, what are we going to do with you?" I looked her up and down, trying to assess how good she'd be in combat. Nothing much, though I hadn't been much either. Actually, I take it back. I found out quickly here that my lower body strength is really… well, insane. Well, duh, I can handle three times my own weight on my legs. That's about four hundred pounds… so when I try to kick the crap out of something, I DO kick the crap out of it.

Finally, I shrugged. "Well, I've got nothing. Demonslaying is a tricky job, and it takes a lot of training. Same goes for taking on the heartless, also because they're increasing at a rapid rate…"

Myra gave me an intent look. "What's a heartless?"

I shrugged. How had Leon put it? "Those without a heart." I looked out the window, and true to my guess, there was a shadow standing in the distance. The damn thing was a scout, I've never been able to fry them. Even with my Disintegration Wave, they just slip into the Shadow Realm or something to avoid the blast. Myra followed my glance, then gasped. "Those things… I've FOUGHT those before. They were part of the group that attacked… home." Her tone was full of rage. I noticed that her right hand was clenched, and that there was a faint outline appearing from her hand. Son of a… I've never seen that before… and I've seen a lot of magic. Hell, I'm a summoner, I use my magic in the most irregular ways! Even tried to summon a keyblade, though that didn't work…

I rested my hand on her shoulder. She looked up at me, and I shook my head. "Don't bother. It's a scout, I've tried to blast them before, nothing works. Even if you have magic, it won't help too much. The damn thing senses hostility, and disappears if you try to hit it."

Myra narrowed her eyes at me, but I just shook my head again, shutting my eyes as I did so. "I've tried, in numerous ways. Summoning a mindless thing, calling elemental forces to hit it, blasting it with a Disintegration Wave… nothing works." Scouts are nothing new to me. They've been around about as long as I've been here. And I DID all those things to try to kill them, nothing worked. All it did was make me want to sleep for weeks.

Myra looked back out the window, and cracked her knuckles. "I still want a shot at it."

I sighed. Ah, to be young and full of confidence. Heh, I sound like an old guy, and I'm only 18. "Fine. But you'd best get a weapon before you try it."

Myra looked at me – I suspect it was the blades on my back she was eyeing. I shook my head softly, and said "forget it. They're tied to me… they only cut unless they're in my hands. No Disintegration Wave, no Fusion Blade, no lightning running across the blades when they're defused… nothing magical, nothing special. What did you use to defend yourself?"

She looked off into the distance, then shrugged. "Something. It looked strange…"

I sighed. It was going to be a long day…

Heartless raid, doubting minds:

-------------------

I looked up from my contemplation of my two blades when I heard a girl's voice shout "SIT!"

A moment later, I heard the expected cry of pain. I chuckled softly, and walked out to see Inuyasha doing a faceplant. Myra was sleeping again, so I didn't have to worry about her.

The darkness between worlds really does take it out of you. I've only been through it once, and I never want to do it again. "Heyla. Inuyasha, what you do THIS TIME?"

Inuyasha managed to pull his face from the dirt, and growl at me. "You again?"

I shrugged. "Me again. What, you expect that I'd let some crummy demon eat me? Or a heartless? Feh, I'm better than that."

I heard Inuyasha mutter something, but Kagome Sat him again. I grinned at her, then looked at her companions. Miroku and Sango weren't exactly HAPPY to see me, but that's no surprise. They still think I summon demons… I knew using Guilt on Inuyasha in our brawl was a bad idea. I weakly grinned at them, then sighed. "What's up? You're usually not here unless something's wrong…"

Kagome said "I've got a big test to take."

I winced openly. "Bleargh."

Kagome seemed a bit confused by my reaction, and then paused. "Oh, and something weird happened. I used that sphere thing you gave me to heal Miroku, and then it split into two!"

I smiled. Hell yea, it'd been mastered. "That's normal. The stronger one is 'mastered', it doesn't get any stronger than that. The new materia is at it's base level."

Kagome nodded, apparently understanding. I think she muttered something about Sota, too. "Uh, Kagome? Could I have one of the two materia? I don't care which."

Kagome gave me a confused look. I'm notorious for NOT getting beat up, the way I fight doesn't give my opponent a chance to hurt me. I guess she wondered. "Uhm, sure. After all, you gave me another one."

I blinked. I'd actually forgotten that Kagome had another materia. Revive, if I remember correctly. Kagome tossed me a materia orb, and I fielded the small thing. I examined it for a moment, then chuckled. "Unmastered, huh? No respect."

Kagome blushed, and looked over at Inuyasha, who by that time, had gotten up. "Like you need it."

I sighed, and shook my head. Well, if things went well, I'd have plenty of chances to get some AP to level up the materia. "Yeesh, take it easy. At least I'm not like some people, and call you a halfbreed bastard…"

Inuyasha growled at me, and I smiled grimly at him. "Or do you want another brawl…"

Kagome looked at me, a confused look on her face… and then it hardened. She looked away from me, and turned her 'angry face' towards Inuyasha. "Were you fighting with him while I was away?"

Inuyasha was smart enough to back away, and stammer a disclaimer. Unfortunately, you don't want to piss off Kagome.

"SIT SIT SIT!"

"Argh!" The hole was kinda big that his impact produced. And from only three sits. I guess the thing is sensitive to rage.

I looked back at Kaede's place. Something told me Myra was awake. And that something was right, she staggered out a moment later. She had a loose t-shirt on, and a pair of cargos that I'd left for her. I didn't have a lot of spare clothes, but she could have 'em. Her dress thingy was way too formal and troublesome for this world. And it was kinda slashed in a few inappropriate areas.

&&&&&

&&&&&

Kagome followed Sandstone's gaze. A teenager who looked slightly older than her was stumbling out of Kaede's house, looking at them with something close to worry.

Time to clear that up… she waved, and said in her cheerful tone of voice, "Hi! My name's Kagome! Are you new here?"

She paused, and then nodded. "Uh-huh." Her gaze wandered the group, and then stuck on one point. Kagome looked to see what was so interesting, and then smiled slightly. She was staring at Inuyasha. Knowing how she had reacted the first time she saw Inuyasha, she probably wanted to touch his dog-ears. And he wouldn't like that…

Sandstone waved her over to him, and said something to her. He was sort of strange – he'd traveled with her (and the others) for awhile, but he'd kept to himself a lot of the time. And sometimes, he somehow seemed to know them as if he'd lived with them for years. Every time he did that, he acted like he'd slipped up.

Kagome shrugged. He wasn't that bad. He'd helped her out with her math work (he was a lot better at it than she was), and she'd never flunked a test that he helped her study for.

And he didn't argue like Inuyasha that the tests were pointless, he just wordlessly shook his head, and helped her. She wondered where he'd come from, since he never spoke about it.

&&&&&

&&&&&

"What?"

I smiled slightly, and said "word of advice, don't touch his ears."

Myra frowned at me. I could almost hear her say "but…", though she didn't say anything.

After a few moments of a stare-down, she backed off, and smiled sheepishly. "I'll keep it in mind. Uh… what would happen if I did?"

I shrugged. I wasn't honestly sure, but I could guess… "he'd slug you over the head, unless Kagome comes to your rescue. If you want to go hang out with a cute little half-fox, half human, who'd love some friendly attention…" Technically, he's full demon. But she doesn't have to know that.

Myra grinned at me – bait taken, just like I expected.. "Fox? Where?"

I looked around, then shouted, "Hoy! Shippo!"

Shippo poked his head out from behind Sango. "Huh? Oh, hey Sandstone! Who's your friend?"

Myra turned her head over to Sango, and raced over. "Oh, he's sooo cute!"

Shippo looked at me, a betrayed expression on his face. "Oh, you traitor! I thought you liked me!"

The others in the demon-slaying party had various expressions of amusement on their faces. I nodded respectfully towards Sango, and went up to her (by this point, Shippo was running away from Myra, and trying to hide behind people). "How've you been?"

She smiled weakly at me, and said, "we've been fine. Those spheres you lent us have helped a lot."

I added slowly "I hope the second one wasn't needed."

Sango's expression was sad "Unfortunately, yes. Not for us, though Kagome used it to bring back some slain villagers. We've been hearing about you, too. You're gaining quite a reputation."

I smiled faintly, and shook my head. "I'm human, and that's that. Take care of yourself, ok?" Sango smiled, and I added softly "And try not to scar Miroku for life…"

She blushed, and looked away. That's one thing I've been careful NOT to tease her about very often… this is probably the third time I've done this.

Miroku must have been listening, because he shot me a grateful smile, then went back to watching the chase with a half-smile on his face. Which I killed by glaring at him, and saying "never mind, I forgot what a lecher he is."

Miroku DID facefault, collapsing into the ground. "What did I do?"

I glared at him, then smirked. "You were looking at Myra. Maybe if you changed a bit, you'd… never mind." It was a wasted effort, Miroku didn't listen to me. I'd TRIED to hint that Sango WOULD like him if he'd just cut the lechery, but he never listened. Heck, he'd gone so far as to ask if I could SUMMON a woman who would willingly bear his children. Gag me with roughage, that had been nasty to deal with.

Inuyasha had recovered by this time, and growled "what're you doing here, anyway?"

I pointedly looked at Myra, who was hugging Shippo. "Her. I found some demon trying to eat her. She was already beat up, so I teleported here, and asked Kaede to help her."

Kagome quietly asked "Is she alright?"

I nodded, and responded "yes. But she's not from around here, and she doesn't remember her world at all."

"Huh?" "Wa?"

I sighed, and explained. "World. There are many, many worlds out there. Mostly, they're not supposed to be connected together." I glanced over towards the scout heartless, and continued "except for those things. They've connected the worlds…"

&&&&&

&&&&&

Myra froze, feeling a deep chill in her heart. She looked up, and to her right (away from the village). Shadows were coming closer. "Something… shadows… Sandstone! Those heartless things are coming!"

Sandstone, who had been talking to the others (while she chased the cute little guy), looked around, then where she pointed. He swore colorfully, and looked to the others, who had gone from merry to serious. "We're on it. Myra, get to Kaede's place. You should be safe there."

Myra glared at him. "No way!" She held out her hands, concentrating. She wanted that weapon that had appeared before. With a feeling of gladness, a beam of light came into her hands, and it appeared. "I can fight too!"

&&&&&

&&&&&

I nearly fell over, looking at the weapon in Myra's hands. A keyblade? And this one looked like Oathkeeper (silver, star for the ending point of the weapon, elegant), except longer. Finally, I managed to nod, and say "and we're going to talk after this."

The shadows grew closer. Inuyasha had drawn the Tetsusaiga, and had a smirk on his face. "I don't need your fake Wind Scar, I've got power enough to handle this."

I sighed. "Fine. Use your Wind Scar. I'll use the Disintegration Wave to pick off the ones that try to slip by."

&&&&&

Well, Inuyasha was mostly good for his word. He fried most the heartless before they came close, and I'd deal with the rest with a wide-spread disintegration wave (it's designed to target one foe for maximum damage, but I can use it like the Wind Scar if I need to).

The 'waves' of heartless were composed of hundreds of 'em. Mostly weak things, like Shadows, though I caught a few Invisibles.

Those things dodged the Wind Scar, and my disintegration wave only did so much to them, I didn't have the strength to unleash it's full potential yet. I shortened the light-blade, and narrowed my eyes, tracking them. "Myra, those big things with swords are powerful. Inuyasha, you keep on dealing with the mass numbers… I'll work with Myra on the Invisibles."

Sango's boomerang nailed one out of the air, but the rest (about six), charged us. Myra screamed, and charged them, her keyblade flashing. I sighed, and charged in myself, though my silence must have been eerie.

&&&&&  
&&&&&  
Myra flew back, hit by those 'heartless's' swords. She was bleeding… and her arm was broken. "Ow…"

Sandstone raised a hand towards her, not looking while he somehow held off three of them rushing for her with only one hand. A jet of green light rushed from his palm to her, closing her wounds, and somehow restoring her broken arm. "Myra, I could use some help."

Myra got up, and rushed back into the fray, striking at them furiously.

&&&&&  
&&&&&  
I shook my head. Myra was brave, but stupid. She didn't know how to fight as well as she needed to, and I didn't have the time, magic, or summoning strength to teacher her to fight. I backed off (her strikes were driving them back, though they blocked her hits), and held up the glowing blade, yellow light running along it. After a moment, the three Invisibles were surrounded by a sphere of yellow-white (you could see them trying to break through,) energy, and then faint lines connected the sword and spheres. I swung, and a solid beam of energy traversed the line, causing the spheres to implode, creating an almost Ultima-like effect of internal explosions, except those explosions were the Heartless's molecular structure collapsing. This was the Disintegration Wave functioning the way it had been designed – to take on few foes, but strike with overwhelming force.

The Invisibles exploded, emitting green balls that I recognized instantly as healing balls (hey, I'd fought Heartless before). Myra came close to them (she looked curiously at them), and they circled into her, healing the blows she'd gotten.

The rest of the Invisibles were gone. I think Kagome got two, Miroku one (he'd learned the hard way NOT to use the Wind Tunnel on heartless, he nearly became one himself), and Sango got the one that kept on trying to attack her.

Inuyasha got all the others. But like I said, the Disintegration Wave isn't designed to take on hordes of foes.

Inuyasha sheathed the Tetsusaiga, and turned to us. "What the hell was that about?"

I sighed, and looked towards the ground. "That's probably Myra's fault, though she can't help it."

That got everyone's attention. Myra looked at me like she'd been stabbed. "What?"

I pointed to the keyblade in her hand. "Actually, it's that."

&&&&&  
Miroku said, "So, if you can find this 'Keyhole' thing, the heartless will disappear."

Kagome sighed. "That's going to be hard. It's a huge world!"

I shrugged, not really caring, I had a magic answer for that. "The Heartless will still be around… they'll just be weakened. Horribly. Anyway, there are ways around that. If worse comes to worse…"

Miroku shuddered, probably thinking about the one thing that made him worry about me. "Please, save that for a last resort. Those things are dangerous! How you can control those infernal beings is beyond me."

Myra blinked, and looked at me questioningly. "Uhm… infernal beings? What's he talking about?"

I sighed. "I'm a summoner, but I have no ties to an element, or alignment. So that means… I could summon an angel, if they'd accept the summons… or demonic entities. One in particular… the Chaos Legionaries." I fingered the Sword Crest, which I always kept handy, which was hanging from a chain around my neck. It looked like a simple blade pattern, made of a silvery metal with a hole for a chain. I sighed, and said slowly, "beings from the Infernal Plain. They're controlled through items called Crests." I touched the crest again, drawing her attention to it, and then continued "Though someone good can use them…."

"They are such a risk, it would be better for them never to have been created. For even the most noble individual could be corrupted." Miroku gave me a level gaze, and continued, "Sandstone summoned several Crests to himself two years ago, when he was newly arrived here. What continues to amaze me, is that even though he uses them, he has yet to show any signs of possession, or taint of evil beyond the human norm."

I sighed, and said gently "Human norm is bad enough, Miroku. You know that I'd try to get to a priest if I felt myself falling." I sighed again, and looked discretely at Myra. She was looking at me, her mouth hanging open slightly, an expression of shock on her face. She mouthed for a moment, then said in a gush of air, "De… demons?"

I corrected absently, "Chaos Legions, actually. They don't eat souls, and they can't turn on the summoner who holds their crest."

Her expression twisted into something I was used to seeing – shock, fear, and anger. She stormed off, and I sighed. "Great."

Kagome sighed "And I was going to ask you to help me study…"

I shrugged.

&&&&&  
&&&&&  
Myra looked out the door at Sandstone. He, and that black-haired girl (Kag… something), were looking over a book, and he seemed to be… helping her understand something. But… HOW? How could she trust someone who summoned demons?

How did she know that? She probed her new thoughts, and realized something: her home had things called demons… users of Chaos.

A guy who could summon them… bind them to his will… what… why? Just WHY? She'd been rescued by someone tainted. She shivered, and then shuddered. Without even a reason, her weapon (Keyblade?) appeared in her hand, and she gazed at it.

"_Don't fight him, he won't harm you." _ Whatever that voice was… could she trust it? Or was it the demons, preying on her mind, so that they could use Sandstone as a vessel to invade her body?

Wait… why would they want it? She trailed off, her memories becoming too vague for her to recall WHY she would be hunted particularly by demons. All that she knew was that they'd hunted for her.

She closed her eyes. Sandstone… she'd watch him. If he… if he even touched her again, she'd… do something.

&&&&&  
&&&&&  
A pair of black eyes watched the mirror, though a mirror it was not at this moment. It showed a girl curled up beside a doorway, her grey eyes shut. The black eyes narrowed, and the image shifted, portraying the same girl with an aura of grey light, a light that moved like liquid, infused with stray flecks of white and black.

Again, the image shifted, portraying the short-haired summoner, who was reading over a book with a scowl of concentration. His aura was a green, with only faint glimmers of white or black, that could be associated to be a trick of the eye – they appeared, and then disappeared in a flash, and rarely (if that). The green was something that belonged in a forest – green as seen through a leaf.

The eyes narrowed. Finally, a voice was heard in the darkness, as the seer said, "The girl seems to be normal… for a new keyblade master. But the boy… the summoner has a color balance I've never seen before, it's almost like he's been purified to the point where he can hardly do any evil without suffering pain…"

A voice replied, "This is ill hearing. Can he be dealt with… or forced away from the keyblade master?"

The summoner seemed to look straight at the eyes, his intent gaze fading, turning into a questioning look.

The eyes narrowed, and the mirror became a mirror again. Slowly, the seer's voice said, "I doubt it. And… it seems that he knows the importance of a keyblade master… I doubt he'd willingly abandon her."

A pair of lips curled in distaste.

A not so gentle push:

-------------------

I held my head tiredly. I always hated Geometry, it was one of my weaker skills. "Got it now?"

Kagome nodded, and asked, "What were you looking at?"

I shrugged. We were sitting next to each other, Kagome's math book between us, and a notebook (full of calculations and notes – my handwriting is crap, so Kagome was on her own for notes). "I thought someone was watching us. Maybe Inuyasha, he's come here before flinging accusations."

Kagome sighed, and said weakly, "I'm sorry about that. He's just really jealous."

"You two together yet?"

Kagome blushed, and moved a bit away from me. "Uh… what are you talking about?"

I grinned at her – no sympathy this time. "I'm asking if you two are together yet. I've read your thoughts before, and I know you like him."

Kagome froze, and I grinned merrily, "oh, and he feels the same." At that, I heard something fall from a tree nearby. When I turned to look, a certain red-robed half demon was laying flat on the ground, his face pulled out of the dirt, looking at me in shock. I smirked. "And I'm not joking about reading your minds. Now do I have to force things, or are you two just going to get over it?"

Kagome stammered, "what… about… Kikyou?"

I mildly (I'd lost the smirk) turned to Inuyasha, and said calmly, "now would be the time to tell her who you swore to protect, if one tried to kill the other. Which one? The dead priestess who wants to drag you to Hell, or the girl you've come to love?"

Inuyasha glared at me, but after a moment, he managed to say "Kagome…"

I caught Kagome blushing, and smiled. "Well, that wasn't so bad. I'll leave you two alone now." Before they had a chance to react, I got up, and walked away.

&&&&&  
&&&&&  
Kagome thought to herself, 'oh, now what do I do? Was… was he telling the truth? Could he really…'

Kagome hesitantly asked, "Inu… yasha?"

Inuyasha had, by this time, gotten up from his fall, and dusted himself off. "Yea?"

"Did… were you…"

Inuyasha said softly, "yes."

Kagome smiled, and glomped him, catching the startled half-demon in a hug.

&&&&&  
&&&&&

I chuckled, looking at the two of them. Kawaii! It was about damn time! Now all I needed to feel better was to convince Myra that I wasn't as bad as she thought I was. Damn, that was harder than you think – she reacted STRONGLY to the word 'demon'. Must mean her world has demons, and she'd had bad experiences with them.

I am so screwed.

Leaving so soon?

-----------------

Myra stormed out, leaving. She couldn't take it. So far as she could tell, the demonslayer group seemed to take no mind to the fact that Sandstone summoned demons. Or if they did, they kept it quiet from her.

She brushed past a tree, and heard someone say, "Leaving so soon?"

She looked up, and caught a flash of red. It was that half-dog guy… with the ears. "Yea, I am. You got a problem with that?"

He crossed his arms, making his hands disappear into his sleeves. "I'm not hunting you down when Sandstone realizes you're running away. It'd be a waste of my time… so you're staying."

A voice came from the direction of the village, sounding slightly amused. "Honestly Inuyasha, you never give me credit." Myra scowled – that was Sandstone's voice. Speaking of the demon-summoner, he walked into the forest, leather armor (did he EVER TAKE THAT OFF?) clad and all, complete with two swords on his back, and a pack. He didn't seem to notice her scowl, and continued, "yeesh. Kagome trusts me, can't you?"

"Feh. There could have been a demon here, and then what would you do?"

Sandstone's smile hardened, and he said, "I'd just summon Choco-mog, and jump onto the chocobo myself, ditching the rider. Those things move fast, it should be able to keep up with anything here, and I can use the disintegration wave from choco-back. Damn the drain, a keyblade master is worth it."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, and stormed off. Sandstone mildly tracked his progress with his eyes (Myra noticed him doing that), and then he turned to her. "Myra… just tell me. Why are you so afraid of me?"

She blinked, feeling a whiteness scour her mind. "You worked with demons. Demons... Chaos."

He blinked several times, and seemed to be confused. "Demons of chaos… I know I've read that somewhere… demons of chaos… damn. There are so many…"

Myra finally realized something. He was a… scholar. He'd read a lot… and yet… "You call demons of chaos, and yet you pretend that you're normal? You're chaos-corrupted!"

Sandstone smiled, and touched her cheek. "If I were chaos-corrupted, wouldn't anything I touch be hurt in some way?"

Myra blanched, and started to step away. He removed his hand, lowering it to his side, and arched an eyebrow instead. "Just tell me, unless what I've read is wrong, anyone chaos-corrupted affect the things around them, by infusing chaos forcefully into the things they touch. It… it should have hurt. Did it?"

Myra blinked - it made sense… and it hadn't hurt. "I… didn't hurt. But don't touch me EVER again. I don't know what you are… but I don't trust you."

Sandstone smiled sardonically. "To be honest, I don't blame you. I worry myself, if I'm corrupted. But… I'll tell you one thing about the Chaos Legions." Myra crossed her arms, and waited. After a moment, he calmly stated, "There was one Knight of the Dark Glyphs, who used Chaos Legions. His close friend… he discovered something, and fell to Chaos, and tried to destroy the world." Sandstone smiled bitterly. "The knight stopped him, with help from the Chaos Legions. The Chaos Legions fought Chaos incarnate… do you understand?"

Myra blinked. Chaos Legions fighting Chaos incarnate… that meant that the name was just… a name. And probably not a good one, unless Sandstone's story was false. "How do I know you're not lying to me?"

Sandstone snorted. "We never can know for sure. Even the truth can be a lie."

Myra nodded, and walked away. "I… need some time to think."

&&&&&  
&&&&&  
To this day, I'll never understand the female mind, heart, or soul. Probably why I never dated anyone, even though I should've by that age. Joy of being a loner, I guess. Though I've learned to lighten up, and be social – sorta.

She nodded, and started to walk towards the village. "I… need some time to think."

I watched her go, and smiled slightly.

Shadowlance was coming. And with a keyblade master (I cannot wield a keyblade, my skills lie in the summoner's arts), I wouldn't feel any guilt in leaving, if this world was sealed. That starship was armed to the teeth (and gums, if you get what I'm saying), had shields that were tough, and engines that MOVED the thing at high speed. And, I could summon it in a few days, I'd been saving my energy for nearly a whole year to call it.

&&&&&  
Kagome froze, right as we were waiting for her to jump into the well. "I'm sensing something. Something big!"

I watched Myra out of the corner of my eye… she looked pale as well. "The Heartless. I think we've got the 'boss' of them coming."

I looked up, catching a black-winged figure flying closer. It basically resembled an angel, but replace the angel wings with bat-wings – massive, six foot ones. Silver hair, and beautiful – fallen beauty. "Incoming."

The heartless landed elegantly, and then crossed its arms, smirking at us. It raised its palm, and held it out towards Inuyasha and Kagome, sending them flying back. It then pushed its palms together, then spread them apart. A glowing sphere appeared around it, and spread. I passed through, it didn't seem to affect Myra (duh, Keyblade means you can't lock her out), but Miroku and Sango were thrown away, and I figured that unless Inuyasha recovered, we were the only two facing it (he had the red Tetsusaiga, after all…)

I looked at it for a moment (the energy), and sighed. "Damn." I unsheathed my blades, and set myself into an aggressive pose. "I'm not in the mood for this."

Myra, I noticed, hadn't moved. When I spared a moment from the stare-down to watch her from the corner of my eye, she was mouthing like a fish out of water.

I charged in. I didn't dare use the disintegration wave, that needed time to be set up. "Let's GO!"

&&&&&  
&&&&&  
Myra tried to fight herself, and attack the thing that had flown in. It had hurt Kagome… and Kagome had become her friend. But she couldn't move… at all. Sandstone was holding his own against the heartless (actually, he was deflecting all of the thing's attacks, and striking at high speed), but… she knew something was wrong.

The thing glowed blackly, and then the battle turned. Sandstone was on the defensive, blocking frantically, until one of the thing's punches got through, blasting him into the barrier.

He groaned, and his head fell forward. It looked like he… had passed out. Myra looked from him, to the demon/heartless. It was smiling, as if it knew it had won.

She couldn't take it anymore. She attacked, without holding anything back.

&&&&&  
&&&&&  
I fought off the sleepiness, and managed to open them enough to see Myra slashing like a woman possessed, taking on the demon-heartless. She was struggling – her right leg, and left arm had gashes from the dark energy the thing was using.

But she managed to kill it with one final blow. It crumpled, and a glowing crystal slowly rose from the fallen form.

The heartless disappeared, and Myra fell over. As the barrier fell, I managed to stagger up, and gather my scattered wits to cast Cure on her, stopping the bleeding.

Now… if I could just persuade Myra to seal this world, I could leave, guilt-free.

Sealing, and leaving

---------------------  
"Why am I here again?"

I pointed to the tree. I KNEW the keyhole was here, this tree is too important to this world. Myra had her keyblade out, and Sango was standing nearby. Myra scowled, and raised her keyblade. Almost in response, a keyhole appeared on the bark of the tree, and energy swirled on the tip of the keyblade.

A thin beam shot out of it, and entered the hole. With a 'click', the keyhole disappeared.

I laughed, knowing that the heartless would be under control from now on, so I didn't have to stick around. "Excuse me ladies… but I'm leaving now."

Sango gave me a curious gaze, and I know Myra had a confused look on her face. I grinned, and walked for the nearest clearing.

&&&&&  
&&&&&  
Myra followed Sandstone to the clearing. What was he planning? Leaving where?

She'd follow him. She really didn't want to stay here, given a choice. Kagome was nice… but… well, she KNEW that Sandstone was hiding something. Several things – he might just know about her past.

And that was not something she'd let slip away.

He closed his eyes, and a blackness began to pour from his body, flowing into a shape in front of him.

&&&&&  
&&&&&  
I smiled, as I felt the summoning call break, completed. I opened my eyes wearily, looking at what I'd called – the Shadowlance.

It was styled like an X-Wing fighter. It was longer, with a broader wingspan – it also needed more room to maneuver. Where an X-Wing could squeeze through at two meters, this ship needed at least four, maybe five. And this thing was all black, so that it would blend in with space (sort of).

The cockpit (which was rather long) happened to be the forward most point of the ship. Well, cockpits – there was an upper one, and a lower one (top and bottom). But the lower one housed the ship's strongest weapon, not me, or another pilot. Slightly behind the cockpits was a pair of wings that would look normal on a jet aircraft. They were 4.5 meters long each, and carried six engines, and four weapons each (evenly distributed top and bottom). Needless to say, they were reinforced like hell. Above (and below) the main wings were a pair of stabilizing wings, each armed with a repeater laser cannon. They basically sat above (and below, respectively) the hatch on the cockpits.

Behind those wings were the other six wings. Four were in a stylized X pattern, similar to an X-Wing's wings. They rose up more than the standard wings (basically 35 degrees), and were thicker. But they weren't as 'long' (didn't extend as far) – maybe two and a half meters in all.

Between the X shaped wings were another pair of stabilizer wings. They were smaller than the other stabilizer wings, and were designed to NOT get nailed by the exhaust of the engines on the main wings. They didn't have any weapons, and neither did the X wings (the X wings had engine clusters – four engines on the ends). There were four repeating lasers on the rear of the ship, giving it a "screw you" ability – even if you were on its tail, the pilot (me) could still flame you down.

I'd designed the monster of a starfighter myself – though it could be called more of a small attack craft. Despite the appearance, the engines on the X wings were just as powerful as the engines on the main wings. If the shield went down, one block of engines could be blasted off, and the ship could still move. It would have to go slower, though – but I'd wanted it able to limp home on half-engines.

The thing massed more than a B-Wing and Imp Missile Boat put together. The power supply crystals were the main source of that mass. They powered the whole ship. Immune to practically every weapon (they absorbed explosions, and energy), they were quite useful. They were too heavy to plate the ship with, however… so they were positioned in a variety of places. The tips of the main wings had two each, and they were tied to the engines on the wings, and the weapons. The rear mounted engines and weapons drew on four crystals in the core of the ship, at the rear… and the repeater weapons on the forward stabilizer wings drew on a pair by the cockpit.

The ultimate weapon the ship had (in the under-cockpit) was powered by three crystals… and had a focus of a very special power crystal as well – a crystal that had somehow been designed to be a focus of a cannon blast, and amplified it even more.

I thought of it as a version of that Final Fantasy cannon that blasted Diamond Weapon into oblivion. Except it doesn't use Maeko, it used a different power source. And… well, I'm not sure if an Eclipse super-shot or this cannon would win.

I smiled slightly – it'd be good to have some modern conveniences soon. I couldn't go with Kagome to her era, so I was TIRED of living like this. I heard Sango gasp, and I turned to the two girls. "What?"

Sango looked from me, to the starfighter, and back again. "You could summon something like this?"

I nodded. Actually, I still had some strength within me. The demon-heartless didn't do as much as I'd feared, just knocked the sense out of me. And the Shadowlance didn't drain me as much as I expected, either. "This is what I meant. I'm leaving… going somewhere else." I smiled slightly, and said, "Say goodbye to Kagome for me. I probably won't see her again."

I turned back to the ship, and started to walk towards it, until I felt a tug – someone had grabbed my pack. I turned my head partway, and caught Myra glaring at me. "You're taking me with."

I arched an eyebrow, and she scowled. I dunno… it didn't seem like a good idea to leave her behind, but she'd be a pain in the ass if I did bring her. Trapped… but I'd just let her tag along without complaining. "Sure. But you're going to see… a lot of strange things. I'm going to bounce around from world to world."

Myra shrugged. "I don't care. Just… can you help me get my memories back?"

I sighed. "If there's a will, there's a way. Sure, if I can find something that can help. I can't just magically 'summon' back your memories, my Art doesn't work like that."

I think Myra sighed, but I couldn't tell, I was climbing up the wing to get to the cockpit. I'd never summoned a ladder to get up, and… well, I'm not lazy like that.

&&&&&  
&&&&&  
Myra sat in the seat that Sandstone had pointed out to her. It was sort of… strange. She'd never… well, she couldn't understand any of the things Sandstone was manipulating. It didn't make any sense… "how… are you controlling this thing?" He'd explained to her it wasn't a monster, just a 'thing' that would help them.

He looked back at her (she was sitting behind him, and most of the things were up there), and grinned slightly. "Mostly through a joystick. I can teach you to fly something like this later, when I find somewhere to land… well, after we take off."

He turned back to his… things, and started to manipulate a few of them, his left hand on a stick that was part of a panel that was sticking out. He switched the hand that was holding the stick, and then pushed a lever forward.

The thing… the Shadowlance, if she remembered right… shook, and the ground seemed to move away.

&&&&&  
&&&&&

I flipped on the repulsors, my dominate (right) hand holding the joystick, my left hand on the throttle. Despite all the various things, I knew what to do. Weapons was part of the joystick (there was a thumb-tab that let me switch the active weapons), com was on the right, left had throttle and shields, and system readouts / targeting screen was in the middle. I flipped through the system commands with my left hand until I reached the acceleration compensator, and set it to .01 gravity. I'd feel things, but I wouldn't pass out at high G maneuvers. "Myra, you strapped in?"

I heard her fumble about for a moment, then a click. "Yeah."

"Good. If you start to feel sick, let me know." I then reached over to the scanner pad (on the right, but usually you won't have to mess with it in combat), and set it to World Map mode.

I read off the available destinations, and cursed. Traverse Town only – it was the only place within scanner range that could be properly analyzed. Hmm… I wonder… was Sora there? Not like I'd like to travel with him (my illusions on THAT being fun were dispelled), but I'd like to know… "Myra, we've only got Traverse Town for now. I need to pick up a better starmap. You all set back there?"

"Uh, how long will this take?"

I blinked. Hyperdrive included, it would take… "Hour. Maybe two. Why, you need to go to the bathroom?"

I heard an un-ladylike snort. "No, just wondering."

I angled the ship skyward, and slowly engaged the throttle, making sure Sango was out of the wash from the engines.

We slowly jetted upward, until I deemed it was safe enough. I flipped on the shields to max (they'd been set on low level before that), and turned the throttle up. With a slight push that I could feel, the ship accelerated through the atmosphere like a bat out of hell.

&&&&&  
&&&&&  
Sango looked upward, watching the… thing leave. Inuyasha had shown up just as it started to hover in the air, and was silently watching. "Well, he left. Wonder if he'll be all right…"

Sango turned to Inuyasha, surprised. "Huh? I thought you hated Sandstone."

Inuyasha smirked, but didn't appear arrogant. "Not really. He just pissed me off sometimes. He's not all that bad… I guess."

Sango blinked, then looked upward for the sky-fire. It was faint, but she could see it flickering in the sky for a few moments, before it faded.

Space travels:

-------------  
"I don't think I like this… Sandstone…"

I sighed. We'd left the planet behind… why not, it's not like I wouldn't want to either… I turned the ship slightly, and set it in orbit. "Myra… look out the window."

I heard a gasp. "Is that…" "That's where we left from." The earth looked different from space, I've got to say. I can't really describe it well, but I burned the image into my memory. I said quietly, "tell me when you're ready to leave. We've got some time."

&&&&&  
Myra said after a few minutes, "I think I'm ready to go."

I nodded, and turned the ship, re-activating the drives. I glanced at the scanner, and swore. Red dots… fuck. "Heartless!"

&&&&&  
I dove, and twisted the ship into a corkscrew, firing rapidly with the ship's lasers. Even the rear-firing ones were getting a workout. No matter how many I killed, they just kept on coming. Of course, they died in one hit, but they got in the way. But we were almost at the hyperspace point… almost… I laughed, and activated the hyperdrive, leveling out as the stars blurred. Sometimes, I wish that the jump drive had been perfected, giving the ship instant transportation from one point to another, but that broke so many laws of physics, it's not even funny. Well, so did hyperspace, but that's beside the point.

Ah well, at least hyperspace can't have battles. Pulsemass mines are the worst a foe can do in hyperspace, otherwise they have to use a gravity well to drag a ship back into realspace…

&&&&&

Myra whined, "I'm bored… don't you have something for me to do?"

I sighed. I was reading the display for about five minutes, before she'd spoken up (time in hyperspace – five and a half minutes)… that was typical. I went back a few menus, and then activated one option I'd noted. I looked back, and there was a floating screen / display right in front of her. I manipulated it for a moment, and then it opened a menu. "It's touch sensitive. Just press the thing you want to do LIGHTLY, and it'll bring it up."

"Reading… TV? What's TV? Or a 'movie'?"

"TV and movies are moving pictures, with sound. Like a story. Just press the TV, and then cartoons. I think you'll like it."

I heard a finger pressing something twice, then Tom and Jerry introduction music. Good, she'd be entertained for awhile… I hope.

&&&&&  
Two minutes later, she was asking, "Why does that cat hate the mouse so much?"

I sighed, interrupted again. And I was TRYING to see if the Jump Drive could be modified to work (hey, in theory, the thing worked, and this ship had it. It just was questionable if you'd come out alive on the other side – I'm going to talk to Cid about this…) "It's a species thing. It's for humor, you know. Just laugh at the slapstick."

"Huh?"

I explained, "The violence. The cat's misfortune." I grinned slightly – jeez. Ah well, I remember Kagome reminiscing on Inuyasha's introduction to TV as well, she was taking it slightly better than Kagome made Inuyasha sound. And pocky, ramen… that was a funny story, and the look on his face whenever Kagome even mentioned ramen…

"Oh… well, it is kinda funny… can I play with this thing? See what it can do?"

I nodded distractedly. "Sure. It's an entertainment display anyway, not like you can blow up the ship…"

&&&&&

The rest of the flight was quiet. Myra had apparently found that she liked reading, and the Shadowlance had a decent selection to choose from. I flicked off the hyperdrive, then maneuvered the ship towards Traverse Town. It looked odd, to be honest… it was just a bunch of houses, and some buildings. TINY planet.

&&&&&

I settled the ship down with hardly a bump, and then cracked the cockpit open. There weren't any gummy ships here (big surprise). There was a ship that looked vaguely like a YT-2400, but only in shape, and there was no way it was a gummy ship… an it looked like it had been parked here for awhile.

I stretched, and then jumped from the cockpit to the ground. Maybe a two and a half meter jump, not that bad. "Myra! You coming?"

Myra leaned over, then nodded. Her face disappeared for a few moments (I guess she was fiddling with her restraining belts), and then jumped out of the cockpit, landing in a sprawl. I chuckled lightly, but otherwise didn't say anything. "Hey! It isn't funny! Just because I'm not some supermagic summoner, who thinks he can do anything…"

I sighed, then held up my hands in defeat. "I give… yesh. Take it easy. If you want to wander, feel free. I'll be looking around for a few people."

Myra looked at me wonderingly, then shook her head. "You have any money? Because I know I don't… and I'm hungry."

I sighed, and felt into my armor's pockets for some of the money I'd gotten for demonslaying / heartless slaying. I pulled out a few gold coins, and tossed them to her. "They're fairly valuable… so don't get conned. Pure gold, valuable stuff. And DON'T leave this district, there are heartless in the other areas."

Myra nodded, and walked off. I sighed, and shook my head. If she wanted to risk her heart, that was her business, not mine. I could almost see the glee on her face when I mentioned heartless.

Until Kingdom Hearts is sealed, they'll keep on coming.

Traverse Troubles:

--------------  
Donald brought the Gummy ship into dock at Traverse Town. Strangely, there was another ship there, besides the usual ship that sat in dock. A black one, and it made their Kingdom model gummy ship look like a toy compared to a Ultima laser. "What's that?"

Sora peered at it, a grin on his face. "Looks cool. I wonder who flies it?"

"Gwarsh, you think we could find whoever it is?"

&&&&&

&&&&&  
Aeris looked disturbed after I finished outlining the facts – that there are more than one keyblade in existence, and that I was escorting another keyblade wielder. "And you're sure?"

I nodded quietly. It had taken awhile for her to believe me. "Quite sure. I… studied keyblades for awhile. Tried to summon one, actually." I grinned slightly, then shook my head. "It didn't work out, but I got a bunch of books on keyblades when the summoning was finished."

Aeris sighed. "This might change things. I wonder if Sora is here?"

I shook my head "I didn't see a gummy ship when I came in."

Aeris shook her head slightly, and smiled. "Well, since we have some time, would you mind explaining some things about your power to me?"

I grinned – she was one of the most powerful magic users in FF-7… "Sure."

&&&&&  
&&&&&

Myra felt something, and then her keyblade popped out on its own. It started to vibrate wildly, and she grabbed it with both hands, trying to hold onto it, and not lose it. She didn't want to loose her only weapon. After a moment, it stopped, and disappeared as quickly as it came. "That… was weird."

&&&&&

Sora's keyblade appeared, and started to pull him in the direction of the café. He grabbed it tightly, and after a moment, it stopped, and disappeared.

Donald asked "What was that about?"

"Gee, uh… do ya think it's some kind of sign?"

Donald snorted. "Yea right, ya big palooka. It's probably just picking up some heartless."

"Gee, sorry."

Sora ignored them, and went to the Café. He was curious.

&&&&&  
&&&&&  
"It's… strange. I have never heard of your brand of magic… not like you possess."

I nodded, and held up a materia orb. "You use materia to summon, I know. And others usually require some sort of preparation, or some sort of physical aid."

She smiled slightly, and I shrugged. "Well, I'll take my abilities. It kept me alive countless times… and I'll take life. 'scuse me, but I know that Myra's probably picked a fight by now with someone… or something. I'll see you around!" I walked out the door, walking for the second district. She'd probably be there, fighting heartless.

&&&&&  
&&&&&  
"Hey, uh… who are you?"

Myra looked up from her meal (Sandstone hadn't been joking, two of the gold coins had gotten her a huge meal), and blinked for a moment. A boy with a black vest and a crown hanging from his neck was standing next to her. "Uh… Myra. Why?"

"Well… my keyblade started to act all weird, and pulled me towards here. And since you're the only one here… did you see someone carrying something like…" he held out his hands, and a long weapon with 'teeth' at the end (Jungle King) appeared in his hands "this?"

Myra smiled to herself. "Yeah, I have."

The boy's eyes widened. "Really? Where?"

Myra allowed herself to smirk, and said innocently, "first, I want your name."

He rubbed the back of his head, and said embarrassedly "Sora."

Myra smiled, and held out her left hand. With a musical note, her (keyblade) appeared in her hand, the delicate looking cross hanging from the end of a chain. Sora gasped, and stared at her (she was only paying him half a mind, and eating at the same time). She asked lightly "Mind having a practice battle? Sandstone mentioned that you were good."

Sora asked (as two… people who seemed to know him raced up) "Sandstone?"

"He's a guy I'm traveling with."

The duck-thing exclaimed "Sora! Now's not the time to…" it trailed off, and Myra looked at it curiously.

&&&&&  
&&&&&  
Damn. Not in the second district, not in the alley… I guess she actually MEANT it when she said she wouldn't leave the first district. Not that I'd been good to my word, I'd gone to the third district…

Feeling slightly better, I walked to the first district.

&&&&&  
&&&&&  
Sora asked the strange teenager, "You sure you want to do this? What if one of us gets hurt?"

She shook her head. "I'm not worried. I'd just ask Sandstone to lend me that sphere he uses to heal people, and use it. It's no big deal, he expected me to pick a fight… I think."

Sora shook his head, then nodded. She smiled, and then charged in. Sora dodge rolled away, then set himself. The two exchanged blows, their keyblades ringing. After a short exchange, they backed up. Sora had a few scratches from her keyblade hitting her, and she was favoring her right arm, her left arm had a bruise forming on it.

&&&&&  
Sora held his keyblade right next to her neck. "Looks like I won this fight." He winced, feeling his bruises. "Good fight, though."

She smiled from the ground. "And to think that he said I don't know how to fight well."

A slightly older sounding voice said "believe me, you don't know how to fight. You got lucky on that fallen-angel heartless."

Sora turned, and saw a guy with a rather sarcastic look to him. He looked to be a teenager… and was dressed in leather armor… with jewels set in it, for some weird reason. He (the teenager) raised his hand, and suddenly Sora felt a soothing energy cover him, healing his bruises. He did the same thing for Myra, and then helped her up. "If you're doubting me Myra, feel free to ask for a practice fight with me."

Sora looked him over again, and then froze. He reminded him of… Leon, in a way. Collected, and confident.

&&&&&  
Myra shook her head. She'd had it with him. "Fine, Sandstone! I'll take that sparring match, and beat you too!"

Sandstone shook his head, and held out his hand, palm up. After a few moments, a replica of her keyblade appeared in his hand, and he tossed it to her. "We'll use these. They don't cut, they just make the limb go numb if the damage is bad enough." He then somehow held his two swords, despite the fact that they were on his back. He flipped off his pack, and set himself. "Your move, Myra."

&&&&&

Sora whistled. If this was the 'Sandstone' Myra had mentioned, he was in another class. Myra kept on using the reach of her keyblade, but Sandstone turned her every strike.

Donald said from beside Sora, "Is… what in the world's going on here?"

Sora said "I really don't know."

Goofy asked Donald quietly, "Do you think we found the wrong 'key'?"

Sandstone called from the bout (he must have been listening) "NO. You have the right key, and the right person." He ducked Myra's swing, and used his left handed sword to 'stab' Myra in the stomach, and the other to 'slice' away her left arm.

Myra fell back, looking pained. The strange 'Sandstone' shook his head, and the weapons he held disappeared, as did Myra's imitation-keyblade. "Myra, I was telling you the truth. You do need to learn how to fight, unless you want to become a heartless… or raped, if the heartless problem clears itself up." As he said that, Sora had the strange feeling that he was being watched by Sandstone (from the corner of his eye). "You have skill, I'll concede that. But you burn all your energy by recklessly attacking me, and you broadcast what you're going to do. All I need to do is read the clues, and let you wear yourself out, you are not inexhaustible."

Myra panted from the ground (she really sounded tired) "Jerk… fine… I'll… learn… when… … you… teach?"

Sandstone sighed. "I can't teach people my tricks. I'm skilled with using two swords, or the Fusion Blades… when they're fused, it's just a matter of manipulating the blade, and the only weight the sword has is the hilt. It makes the fighting different… your keyblade functions differently. We'll need a teacher for you." He looked over at Sora, and then nodded slightly. Sora wondered why he did that… it seemed that he was paying him a gesture of respect… for what? He hadn't done anything that hard yet! Sandstone turned back to Myra, and helped her up, offering her something to drink. She hesitantly drank it, and seemed to recover her energy.

&&&&&

Myra hesitantly drank the thing Sandstone offered her, and she felt liquid fire pass down her throat. But the moment it stopped burning, she felt her body cool, and her energy return. "Wow! I mean… uh… thanks."

Sandstone grinned slightly. "Thanks, Sora. Now, I'm going to have a chat with someone right now."

&&&&&  
&&&&&  
I noticed instantly that Donald kept on switching between watching Myra, and Sora. Sora had followed us to Cid's shop, saying that he wanted to talk to Myra (they were – I think they were comparing experiences). Finally, I lost my temper with Donald. "Gimme a moment."

Cid smirked. "Right. That duck's been bothering me anyway."

I walked over to Donald, then tapped him on the head. "Listen, Sora's the kid you want to stay with. Myra… I'll guard her. I doubt you two would help much, and she decided she'd travel with me."

Donald smirked at me. "I doubt you've got magic."

I pointed my hand at him, and said "burn" softly. The air right in front of Donald's beak lit up with a mild explosion of flame. Mild, of course, being compared to Fire 3. If was just a simple Fire spell.

I did have a few materia. I'm working my way up to the three Master materia. I possess mastered fire, bolt and ice (usually, I never wear them, and Kagome has the unmastered 'children'), a level two doublecut, the cure materia (level one, duh, and I keep this equipped) a HP plus materia (level two), and a speed plus (level three). My leather armor has eight slots for materia (hey, I special summoned the damn thing, it had BETTER be able to handle the materia), and the fusion blades have four slots. Double AP growth for the armor (again, I specially summoned it – it's Arcane Leather Armor), and no AP for the swords if I use fusion mode… though I get an interesting result if I attack someone with the fused blades and there was materia in there… but I'm drifting.

I crossed my arms, and scowled at Donald. He scowled right back, but his beak was noticeably shut. "Like I said, keep an eye on Sora. He's going to need your help… that is… if you don't betray him."

Donald's eyes popped out of his head with my passing remark, and he hissed at me. "Just who do you think you're talking to?"

I quirked a faint smile, and turned away. "So do you have a starmap?"

Cid nodded. "Yea, sure. I don't know why you don't use a navi gummy…"

I sighed. "Gummies would get destroyed by my ship. It's a glitch in the system that I can't override unless I go down into the core of the program itself, and reprogram it from assembly code up. And I hate assembly code."

Cid snorted. "You sound like a techno geek." I gave him a sad, twisted grin, and shot back, "I used to be one." Cid blinked for a moment, then wordlessly took the coins, handing me the starmap.

Moving on:

---------------

We spend the night at the hotel, taking it easy really. Myra took the blue room, I got the green, and Sora and his pals took the red. Sora joshed me about sleeping with Myra (well, I don't think he fully understands some concepts yet), but I was glad that she dealt with him, not me… actually, she pulled a hammer from somewhere, and smacked him repeatedly over the head with it.

I grinned at the memory.

_Sora rested his hands at the back of his neck, and asked, "Hey, you know, it would be cheaper for the two of you to sleep in the same room…"_

_Myra blanched, and I sighed. But before I could do a thing, she pulled a giant mallet out from nowhere, and held it in a sword grip. "You're dead for that."_

_Sora looked over at me, then dashed off, her swinging the mallet after him._

_I watched for a moment, then turned to Donald. "Do you know where all the women GET those things?"_

_He shrugged. "I dunno. My wife gets a hammer too, but I don't know how."_

"_Gleh!"_

_I turned, watching the carnage. Sora had made the really stupid move of trying to defend himself with his keyblade, and Myra was bashing him over the head repeatedly with her hammer for it. Goofy asked, "Gwarsh, uh, you think we should break them up?"_

_I looked over at Donald, as he looked over at me. Collectively, we shook our heads, and said, "Bad idea."_

I grinned, remembering Sora's frantic apologies. First rule of being around women: don't give them an excuse to pull out the hammer. They'll use it on you every time, and smile demonically the whole time.

I leaned against the ship. Sora was still sleeping, but Donald was up, and standing next to me. Myra… well, she was somewhere else. I think she was doing a wake-up procedure, or something.

Donald said softly, "Do you know something I don't?"

I nodded quietly. "The keyblade wasn't originally intended for Sora."

Donald stared at me, and I continued, "It was intended for his friend Rikku… but Rikku chose darkness, and so the keyblade chose Sora."

Donald looked at me skeptically, but I wasn't done. I stopped looking at nothing, and instead shifted my gaze, locking on the duck's eyes. "And sooner or later, he will try to claim… what is no longer his. He might even succeed, and claim the keyblade."

Donald's beak hung open, and I finished, "And you will betray him, following orders rather than your heart. You might very well KILL him, with that betrayal."

Donald's beak continued to hang open. He started to indignantly reply, but stopped, looking thoughtful. I continued to hold his gaze with my eyes, watching the mental gears turn.

Finally, he spoke, "What happens after that?"

I smiled darkly. "Sora will claim it back, if he survives. Goofy will follow his heart, and rejoin with Sora. What about you, little duck?"

Donald sighed, ran a wing across his eyes, and looked away. "Excuse me if I don't believe you yet."

I sighed. "Well then, when you run into Princess Jasmine, move quickly to rescue her. When you find the Crystal Trident, make sure to keep it hidden, and not let it be destroyed. And don't try to manufacture a fake heart."

Donald looked questioningly at me, and I smiled. "Three worlds. You'll also get swallowed by a huge whale, and Rikku will show up then. Tell him that Kairi's heart is still in existence… just hidden."

Donald stared at me. "Huh?"

"It will make sense later. Now… I've got a system check to perform." I climbed up the Shadowlance, slipped into the cockpit, and started to scan the readouts, readying it for takeoff.

Donald stared at the ship for a short while, then walked away.

&&&&&

Myra climbed into the ship, and I closed the hatch. "Ready to go?"

She said, "And where are we going to?"

I activated the scanner, then shrugged. "Once I upload the starmap onto the system, I'll find a good system to head to. It'll just take another minute."

Myra sighed, and started fiddling with the display.

&&&&&

I grinned, fired a few more rounds, and the heartless ship blew up, leaving behind nothing but a faint 'sheen' of smoke. We jetted onwards, then the planet came into view. It was ringed by… two separate rings of rubble, one going horizontally, one vertically. "Well, that's something that astronomers would be puzzled about…"

Myra looked at me like I was crazy, then shrugged. "Let's just land."

I sighed. "Can't." I looked at the atmosphere, which was covered in lightning. "We'll have to use a teleport to get there."

She looked at me in confusion, as I typed in a few commands into the systems, then snapped on the watch that the computer held out for me to take. I looked back at her, grinned, then activated the system.

&&&&&

I looked around the new place, and blinked. Ok… those wiring things were familiar…

New Digital World:

--------------------------

I walked up to the pulsing red wiring-things, ignoring the greenery of the forest. "Ok, I recognize these…"

Myra tapped me on the shoulder, then asked, "Where are we?"

I looked away, turning to her. "Lyoko… let's go. We'd better follow those pulsations, I think we'll encounter someone I know."

Myra rolled her eyes. "Do you know EVERYONE?"

I shook my head, then drew the two blades. "Get your keyblade out. This place has hostile monsters."

Myra nodded, her keyblade appearing with a gentle chime. "Whenever you're ready. How do we get back?"

I shrugged. "I activate a Teleport scroll, and we reappear aboard the ship." I flicked my wrist, showing her the watch I'd strapped on, and added, "Or push all the buttons on this."

She nodded, and eyed the red pulsations. I nodded, then started running. "You have infinite stamina, so keep on running."

She started to lag slightly behind me, then managed to keep up. "You're right about that stamina thing… I feel like I should be tired…"

&&&&&

"Aelita!"

I heard the voice nearby, and said aloud, "Screw it. Choco-mog!" At my mental beckon, the materia appeared in a socket in my armor, already active.

The chocobo appeared, ridden by the knight-thing. I kicked it off the chocobo, then jumped on myself. "Let's go." I kneed it, making it start, and race towards where I wanted to go. As we raced by Myra (who had stopped), I extended my hand, grabbed her, and swung her up. She barely managed to keep her seat.

&&&&&

&&&&&

Jeremy said desperately, "Aelita, hold on! Yumi's nearly here!"

His screen flickered, and he looked at the radar representation. Zana's monsters were circling, searching for Aelita, but there were new blips - like what Odd and the others signaled… but no names. "Huh?"

The signals raced for Aelita's position, closing in faster than he'd ever seen ANYTHING move in Lyoko.

&&&&&

&&&&&

I spotted a hornet monster, and smiled darkly. "Time for you to die. Disintegration Wave!"

The sphere of energy appeared around the hornet, and it tried to fly free of it, only to bounce off the energy. I swung the sword, the line of energy entering the sphere, and the Ultima-like effect (internal explosions) went off, utterly destroying the monster. I turned to Myra, and asked, "Which way?"

She'd somehow said she… sensed someone when we neared this area, so I was following her directions. Knowing how things were, it probably was Aelita.

She pointed to a sphere of stone. I kneed the chocobo into motion again, and we stopped next to it.

Myra tapped hesitantly on the stone with her keyblade, then turned to me. "Whoever it is, they're in here."

I tapped on the stone, and asked, "Aelita, are you in there?"

A female voice replied, "Who is this?"

I laughed, and said, "No time to explain, we're friends. We'll help you get to the tower, you take care of the rest, ok?"

There was a silence, and part of the sphere opened. A redheaded elf poked her head out, then looked at me, Myra, and the chocobo. "I've never met you before…"

I looked up at the sky, and said, "Jeremy, if you can hear me, I'm not going to hurt her. I'm going to help you deal with Zana, if you're willing to help us… before things get even worse."

There was a pause, then Jeremy's voice came back slowly, "We'll talk, once this is over."

Aelita studied the chocobo, and said in surprise, "I've never seen this before…"

I grinned. "And you won't likely see it again. Come on, no time to waste sitting around chatting." I jumped up easily onto the chocobo (I'd long since gotten used to this), then helped up the other two. "Get ready to run." I kneed the chocobo gently, and it took off. It was slower than before, burdened with more weight, but it could still run fast.

&&&&&

"Whoever you are, you've got four hornets coming in!"

Myra growled, "I've got the two behind us." She jumped off, and I turned partially, to see her block a laser blast with her keyblade, then charge forward, the point of the weapon beginning to glow. "FIRE!"

One of the hornets burst into flames.

I turned, and said, "I guess that leaves the two ahead of us. Time to die…" I concentrated, and the two hornets were surrounded by the beginning state of the Disintegration Wave. I swung the Fusion Blade, and said softly, "Dumahnu."

&&&&&

We reached the tower, and Aelita ran inside. I turned, and spent some of my energy, doing something that technically I shouldn't be able to do.

Myra appeared next to me, in mid-sprint. She skidded to a stop the moment she could, and stared at me. "You can do that?"

I nodded. She walked over, and her fist clenched. "Why'd you leave me alone like that?"

I sighed, then stepped back about a foot. "You can take care of yourself, can't you? I didn't want to insult your skills by saying you couldn't take them… I knew you could."

She stared at me. "Since when?"

I shrugged. "I said you had skill. You broadcast what you're going to do, but against things like these, that doesn't matter much… if they can't read you, you're a great fighter."

"Gee, thanks."

&&&&&

&&&&&

Yumi raced into the control room, and said, "Jeremy?"

Jeremy swiveled in his chair, a strange smile on his face. "Yumi… turns out we've got a few new friends."

Yumi arched a black eyebrow, her Asian features twisted slightly. "Huh?"

Jeremy pointed to the screen, where two dots indicating 'people' were shown next to a tower. "They showed up, and brought Aelita straight to the tower. Each of them took out two hornets, one of them while apparently riding something."

Yumi looked at the life point gage, and blinked. "Jeremy, look at one of their life points."

He looked at it, and blinked. "I didn't notice that…"

"Jeremy, something fishy is going on. First those shadow things appearing in Lyoko, then this?"

Jeremy nodded. "I wish I knew what was going on… Zana seems to be controlling those shadow monsters, but they don't have his emblem…"

Yumi sighed, and shook her head. A symbol lit up, and Jeremy pressed down on the return key, saying, "Return to the past now."

&&&&&

&&&&&

I waited by the base of the tower. Myra was looking around the forest-area, occasionally asking questions about this or that. "Hey, how'd you do that fire spell?"

Myra seemed confused, then grinned. "You get to have all those tricks, so why can't I have one? I was just so annoyed, that I let it burst out and…"

I nodded – that's how I'd discovered my own gift. "I understand."

&&&&&

Tired of waiting, I stood up, and said, "Come on, we're going inside."

Myra shrugged, and followed me.

Inside, we were met with a gasp. Aelita was in the center of the platform, and from the screen in front of her, she hadn't planned on leaving the tower anytime soon. "Why aren't you back in the real world?"

I gave her a mild shrug, then laughed. "We can't go there, apparently. Though I doubt they'd like us in the real world…"

Aelita's expression became intensely confused. "But aren't you from the outside world?"

I nodded tiredly. "Yeah." I held up my hand, and a simple hourglass fell into my grip. "But no one from the 'real world' can do stuff like that."

She nodded, still confused, while Myra was looking around at the various stuff within the tower. Line after line of binary filled various screens that composed the inner part of the tower – I didn't pay it any heed, but she did.

&&&&&

Aelita answered gently, "Jeremy, they haven't hurt me. In fact, they helped us defeat Zana."

I added quietly, "I can also make sure Aelita isn't destroyed, even if her lifepoints go to zero."

There was an exclamation of shock, and I shrugged slightly. Lyoko had restored enough of my energy that I'd been able to call a Life materia without a significant drain. So now someone could die, and I'd be able to restore them for just some mana cost, which was not nearly as taxing as my summonings were.

Jeremy was apparently at the terminal, and reading up on the two of us. "I can't figure anything out about you two. None of your weapons are readable besides the names… and I keep on seeing abilities listed that make no sense!"

I snickered, and asked, "Is one of them Choco-mog?"

"Uh… yeah. What does it do?"

I shrugged, grinning slightly. "Oh, that's the ride I called. It calls a yellow bird that's sort of like a giant chicken, that several people can ride at once… it's how we moved so fast. Energy draining… but I'm used to that."

There was coughing on the other side, nearly a splutter. "H… how did you even get to Lyoko?"

Myra arched an eyebrow at me, and I made a 'hush' gesture, then chuckled. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. It's related to… have you had monsters that are black, and don't seem like Zana's creations?"

Aelita answered for Jeremy, saying directly, "yes, we have. Are you familiar with them?"

Myra nodded, saying darkly, "Yeah. We've fought them before." I looked at her, and shuddered. She's carrying a lot of rage about her home. But then again, I've had two years to cope, and I'd been a loner, even when home was… well, home.

Jeremy and Aelita remained silent, apparently thinking. "Jeremy, you can devirtualize them, can't you?

Jeremy remained silent, then said weakly, "I… I don't know, Aelita. I managed to devirtualize you because you have a unique signature… but I can't read anything on them."

I sighed, and shook my head. "Aelita, get devirtualized. I have a feeling that I know what's blocking the information reader."

She gave me a curious look, then nodded. She floated upwards, then disappeared.

Myra shot me a suspicious look. "You have no idea, do you?"

I grinned slightly, then slipped off my armor, and tossed it aside. "You getting anything?"

Jeremy's voice answered slowly, "Actually… yeah. I am. I'm getting your information now."

"Myra… call out your keyblade, and put it down for a second."

Myra gave me a skeptical look, but made her keyblade appear, then put it gently down. It glowed softly, then Jeremy came back, saying, "Now I've got both of your information… weird. Hey, uh… Sandstone?"

I replied lightly, "Yo?"

"I'm getting some weird readings from you… from the both of you. I think I can materialize you, but it'll take a day or so. I'll have to modify the code I use for Aelita, and run some tests."

I picked up my armor, and started to slide it on. Myra's keyblade disappeared, as she picked it up again. "I understand, I programmed systems myself. What language is that thing, anyway?"

Jeremy was slow to answer, but finally said, "Assembly code. You familiar with it?"

I made a face, and muttered, "Give me a C based language any day. Ew, I hate assembly code."

Jeremy laughed from his end, then the voice cut off. Myra sighed, and asked, "Well, now what?"

I grinned at her. "Want to go back to Traverse Town for a day? I think I got the Jump drive working, so we can be back here in a matter of minutes."

Myra grinned. "Anything's better than this place… it gives me the creeps."

I grinned, then pulled out a sheet of paper from my pockets. I summoned a small pencil, and scrawled on it, _Going out for a bit. Won't appear on Lyoko. Will be back in one day, plus or minus an hour. Sandstone / Myra._

Myra peered at what I was writing, then her eyes narrowed. "I can't read that. What's it say?"

I grinned at her. I'd learned Japanese writing in my 'spare' time from Miroku and Kagome before I'd left to seek my own fortunes… hopefully, Yumi could read that. "It's a certain language's writing. I'm fluent it, as is one of them… but I don't think they could understand what I wrote down, if I used my other language."

I remained silent, letting it sink in, then pointed to my watch, saying, "Either you'll have to touch me, or I'll have to touch you when this thing activates, it needs physical contact to move more than one person."

Myra rolled her eyes, and rested one hand (squeezing slightly) on my arm. I reached lazily over with my left hand (I actually am mostly switch-handed, except for writing, in which case, I favor my right hand), and activated the mechanism. There was a gasp of the void that was familiar to me, and then the familiar controls of the Shadowlance, though Myra's sprawled form on top of me didn't help.

She picked herself off me icily, then slithered into her seat behind me. "Urgh. I'd almost think you did that on purpose…"

I shook my head slowly. "Myra, I am not interested sexually in you. I'm not one of those males that is attracted to anything with a uterus, and a fairly good body, I prefer the mind and personality far more. You're not my type, no offense intended."

"I'm not sure I should be relieved, or insulted…"

I turned to shoot her a grin, then fired the engines onto max, activating the Jump drive just as Heartless ships started to converge on us.

&&&&&

I jumped down, and looked up at Myra, before getting out of her way. She jumped down, and stood unsteadily, but managed to stand. With a proud smile, she looked around. "Hey, they got anything to do here, anyway? It's going to be boring, just sitting here like this…"

I smiled softly, and shook my head.


	6. A manaic and a seige

A/N: This was… fun to write, strangely enough. Well, I was cackling while I wrote it, anyway. Probably a result of too much mania and not enough output.

Anyway, it should be obvious where this is. And I suspect a few will recognize the 'first' speaker, his first line is a quote from another source.

Don't expect this to go anywhere, it was a for fun piece.

--

* * *

The mood was grimmer than the sky. The defenders were outnumbered at least five to one, and that was an optimistic guess.

Even those who had white beards and were barely old enough to bear a sword were on the parapets, preparing to give their lives.

On the other side, banners with a white hand mocked them, the color of a former ally turned enemy.

"Orcs! There's ALWAYS MORE ORCS!"

Several jumped at the noise which overrode a crack of lightning from the downpour, and looked around for the source.

It had come from the parapet, yet no one could recognize the voice, or where the owner was.

Another voice replied in a far lazier tone than the previous one, "Yeah, yeah. But look at the bright side. Slaughter!"

Several gulped, while a few elves shifted their aim towards where they suspected the odd conversation was coming from.

"Hmm… ah yes, the bloodshed that I so adore. Very well."

As those last words were stated by the strange maniacal voice, the rain stopped. After a moment's pause, it began to rain down upon the invaders.

Only the rain was bright-red fire.

Even as eyes widened, the owners of the voices became visible, a cloaked figure jumping off the parapet and charging into the hoard. A few sharp-eyed humans had caught a flash of night-black armor before the cloak covered the armor up again. The evil-looking longsword he wielded on the other hand was easily seen, it was glowing an ominous red that seemed to promise endless bloodshed.

"They're…"

Bodies went flying, and the dwarf blinked, not finishing his comment. His elven companion breathed aloud, "Sorcery… I've never felt its like before…"

"Burn motherfuggers!"

A massive blast of fire spread out from the source of the cry, incinerating what had to be at least twenty orcs, and one catapult which had yet to get off a shot.

"Yahahahaha!! Die, die, die, die… DIEEEEE!"

"… I hope that maniac's on our side."

"Blergh, this blood tastes terrible!"

"… you're not alone in that hope."

The fiery rain ceased, only to be replaced with a greenish-liquid that caused those struck on the skin with it to howl to the sky in pain – assuming they were not already incapacitated by the rain of flames.

"You almost scratched my armor! That's it! BOOT TO THE HEAD!"

A greybeard barely managed to duck aside from the flying orc head that had a look of stunned surprise as its final expression.

The defenders watched in a mix of awe and horror as the siege was turned into a slaughter. It quickly became apparent that the fear of their master's punishment was nothing compared to the maniac's brutality on the battlefield, some attempted to cut and run regardless of their master's punishment.

"Running away? WHO GAVE YOU PERMISSION TO RUN AWAY?!"

Even the oldest elf turned green at the sight of mangled orc corpses sent flying high into the sky from a blast of vile sorcery.

"Please let this maniac ignore us, and go after Sauron. Hopefully they take each other out."

The green wood elf gave a weak, "Agreed," even as the slaughter started to slow down.

Even the defenders now outnumbered the pitiful group that remained, trying to flee from the strange liquid rain that ate at flesh and dissolved metal armor.


End file.
